Subscribe to our social channels to get the latest news about Hungary!
The story of Gedeon Richter, the founder of the world-famous Hungarian pharmaceutical corporation
Change language:
On the occasion of Gedeon Richter’s 148th birthday, we would like to introduce the beginnings of the Hungarian pharmaceutical industry and show you how the company with his name has conquered several international markets with their high-quality products.
The company does it all: original research, manufacturing and sales and marketing. Richter Gedeon has over 200 medicines which offer treatment in almost every therapeutic area. Still, they are mainly focusing on researching and making products for three major areas: gynaecology, cardiology and the central nervous system. Their emergency contraceptives are available in more than 100 countries. Thanks to their research, they might be able to develop drugs that could treat schizophrenia, depression, or other bipolar disorders.
As the company puts it: “Our goal as a Hungarian pharmaceutical manufacturer is to improve people’s quality of life and treat patients with innovative, effective and affordably priced products”. The company was not always as big as it is today, so let us see its humble beginnings.
Gedeon Richter was born on the 23rd of September 1872 in ‘Ecséd’, Hungary. When he was 18, he worked as a trainee pharmacist in ‘Gyöngyös’, and five years later, in 1895, Richter has graduated from the University of Budapest (Eötvös Lóránd University) with a degree in pharmacology. It might have been an early sign of success that he graduated with an outstanding title, but he wanted to know, even more. Hence, he travelled to other pharmaceutical companies throughout Europe in order to study their methods. This bore fruit as in 1901, he purchased the ‘Sas’ (Eagle) Pharmacy at the corner of Üllői út (road) in Budapest. This marked the humble beginnings of what is now a worldwide company that pursues medicine to help people make their lives better. By the way, according to the company’s website, the very first ‘gyógyszertár’ (pharmacy) owned by Gedeon Richter is still under the company’s ownership and has been operating since.
At first, Gedeon Richter manufactured organo-therapeutic preparations by using extracts from the organs of animals, which was considered groundbreaking even in international standards. According to the Hungarian Intellectual Property Office (HIPO), his first preparation, the Tonogen suprerenale is still used in medicine today. Seven years later, the company outgrew its old laboratory and moved to a bigger one.
In 1907 Gedeon Richter built the first pharmaceutical factory in Hungary in ‘Kőbánya’. Thanks to his hard work, success followed soon in the form of Kalmopyrin and Hyperol. The former is a type of Aspirin (without some side-effects), a fever and pain reliever which is still sold by the company to this very day. The latter is a disinfectant (hydrogen peroxide) in the form of tablets for easier dosage, which had a significant role in World War I. In 1923, the company was renamed Gedeon Richter Chemical Works and became a limited company.
According to the company’s website: “the Company had nearly a hundred pharmaceutical specialities before the First World War. Between the two world wars, the Company had 10 subsidiaries and 40 representative offices operating abroad and agents on all five continents. By the Second World War, Richter was one of the largest exporters in Hungary” – emphasis added.
