DuPont’s medical products have included x-ray films, pharmaceuticals, diagnostic instruments and the world's first patented laboratory mouse. DuPont introduced its x-ray film in 1932. By 1970 DuPont x-ray films held 40 percent of the market. Twenty years later the company's new UltraVision® x-ray film/screen system, with its sharp image resolution, increased diagnostic accuracy. Symmetrel® was DuPont's first pharmaceutical approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1966 for flu prevention. When initial sales of Symmetrel® lagged, DuPont acquired Endo Pharmaceuticals in 1969 to boost its marketing and drug research capabilities. DuPont entered the medical/diagnostic instruments field in 1970 with its new Automatic Clinical Analyzer (ACA), which performed up to 30 different tests on blood and other bodily fluids. Sixteen years later the ACA's range had broadened to 67 tests. In 1981 DuPont increased its commitment to the health sciences, making biomedical products one of its major industry segments. The company's acquisition of New England Nuclear Corporation in 1981 added radiopharmaceutical tracers to its product line.
In 1986 DuPont acquired American Critical Care, which, under the new name DuPont Critical Care, sold many acute-care hospital products. That year DuPont also introduced its new Dimension analyzer, similar to the ACA, for high-volume diagnostic testing, and announced a new screening test for the AIDS virus. In 1996, however, the company sold its diagnostic and medical instrument businesses.
In 1988 DuPont licensed its transgenic Oncomouse® for use in cancer research. Oncomouse® was the first animal ever patented. DuPont's organ preservation solution, ViaSpan®, introduced the following year, made organ transplant procedures safer and easier. In 1991 DuPont and Merck Pharmaceuticals formed a joint venture to develop and market new drugs. DuPont-Merck's antihypertensives Cozaar® and Hyzaar®, and the anticoagulants Coumadin® and Innohep®, were very successful, and in 1998 DuPont's Sustiva™ became the first drug approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of AIDS. Drug research and approval was extremely costly, however. In July 1998 DuPont purchased Merck's 50 percent interest and in December 2000 announced it would sell its DuPont Pharmaceuticals business to Bristol-Meyers Squibb.
DuPont's health-related products now focus on nutrition, wellness and prevention. For example, DuPont Qualicon's BAX® system and RiboPrinter® technology provide pathogen screening and DNA- based identification of food-borne bacteria, and DuPont's new soy protein products offer a variety of foods low in fat and cholesterol. In addition, the company manufactures Dymel® propellants for pharmaceutical inhalants and a number of textile fiber and Lycra® brand elastane materials for diapers and incontinence products.
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