Most of today’s major pharmaceutical companies were founded in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.Key discoveries of the 1920s and 1930s became mass-manufactured and distributed. The industry got underway in earnest from the 1950s, due to the development of systematic scientific approaches, understanding of human biology, and sophisticated manufacturing techniques. Extravagant profits from the manufacture and dispensing of synthetic chemicals fired research and development by companies such as Bayer, Pfizer, and Merck. Many natural chemicals whose synthetic counter-parts eluded development were lost by the way-side. Such may be the case with Xanthoxylum where most of the testing and research was done between 1829 and 1893.
