Rhône-Poulenc

The innovation and market that has made the global organization Rhône-Poulenc S.A. a world leader in life sciences and specialty chemicals is reflected in the company’s long standing activities in Canada.

Today, Rhône-Poulenc’s Canadian operations are represented by companies spanning agricultural products; the chemical, pharmaceutical, and vaccine industries; animal health and poultry genetics:

Rhône-Poulenc Canada Inc.; Rhône-Poulenc
Rorer Canada Inc.; Pasteur Mérieux Connaught
Canada; and Merial Ltd.

These companies employ 1,670 people across Canada and had combined sales of $625 million in 1996. Together, the group invests more than $50 million in research and development in Canada each year.

Rhône-Poulenc’s presence in Canada began in 1920, with the establishment of Laboratoires Poulenc Frères du Canada Limitée — a small laboratory in Montréal with a staff of five. Today, Rhône-Poulenc Canada Inc. is one of the country’s leading chemical and agricultural products companies, with plants in Mississauga and St. Catherines, Ontario; Valleyfield, Quebec; and Calgary, Alberta. The company is a major exporter of chemical products, with annual sales exceeding $310 million in 1996. In September 1997, the company announced plans to launch “Rhodia,” a new specialty chemicals company. The Group’s chemical and fibres and polymers sectors will be combined to create this new company as of January 1, 1998.

As a member of the Canadian Chemical Producers Association, Rhône-Poulenc Canada has made a public commitment to Responsible Care®, an industry initiative concerning health, safety and environmental management and product stewardship.

Rhône-Poulenc Rorer Canada can also trace its roots to that same tiny laboratory in Montréal. Originally known as Rhône-Poulenc Pharma, the company has grown to become a leader in a wide range of pharmaceutical products. Following its merger with the Rorer Group in 1990, it now ranks among the top ten ethical pharmaceutical companies in the world. Rhône-Poulenc Canada is based in Montréal.

Pasteur Mérieux Connaught Canada, based in Toronto, is the country’s leading biotechnology research company and part of the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer. The company, formerly known as Connaught Laboratories, began in 1914 as part of the University of Toronto. Its achievements include being the world’s first producer of insulin; working with Dr. Jonas Salk in developing and supplying the first polio vaccine; and assisting the World Health Organization to eradicate smallpox, a goal that was reached in 1977. Recently the company launched a new five component pediatric vaccine (Pentacel™) containing the most technically advanced vaccine against pertussis (whooping cough) in the world, and announced a major cancer vaccine research program in June 1997.

The newest business unit to the Rhône-Poulenc family in Canada is Merial Ltd., a fully integrated, stand-alone, joint venture between Rhône-Poulenc and Merck and Co. Inc. The company replaces Rhône-Mérieux as a world leader in veterinary biological and pharmaceuticals. With the addition of the former Shaver Poultry Breeding Farms Limited of Cambridge, the new company offers Canadians the widest selection of animal health products and poultry genetics. The new company will operate throughout Canada with facilities in Quebec and Ontario.