Sucrets, in Philadelphia memory
The history of a cold-relief pill is the history of corporate Philadelphia pharmacy
My item about Insight Pharmaceuticals, Langhorne-based owner of pungent Sucrets sore-throat lozenges, Anacin painkillers, E.p.t. home-pregnancy litmus strips, and other orphan over-the-counter remedies, got some Philadelphia memories working overtime:
"As a child in Glenolden, Pa., our class would visit H.K. Mulford," the firm that made Sucrets, recalls Arthur J. Griffith of Media. Mulford grew "acres" of plants for extracting digitalis (blood thinner), and housed "snakes, mice and rats and horses," which were "used in the testing of their products." That was 70 years ago.
The plant, Griffith was told, "was where Sucrets were originated." Mulford later became part of Sharp & Dohme, Griffith says.
Sharp & Dohme had its plant at 640 North Broad Street, now home to the Osteria restaurant and hundreds of condos, writes Agnes Wenstrup who worked there.
Merck bought Sharp & Dohme in the early 1960s and moved the work out to its labs in West Point, Montgomery County, said Merck veteran David Landes.
"Eventually they sold Sucrets to Beecham Labs, which was purchased by Smith Kline & French," Wenstrup updated me.
It was SmithKline Beecham that eventually sold Sucrets to Insight, which says it's boosted sales by resurrecting the old tin boxes.
"Thanks for reminding me of the awful taste," writes Anna Iredale, from West Chester.