A collection of related notes since stuff disappears from the web every once in a while.
1894 – first treatment for hypothyroidism developed involving desiccated thyroid glands from cows
1914 – thyroxine first isolated in pure form from extracts of hog thyroid glands
1927 – hormone synthesized by British chemists Harington and Barger
1958 (1955?) – first synthetic T4 enters market, manufactured by Flint Laboratories
1986 – Flint contracts with University of California at San Francisco research team headed by Betty Dong to conduct study showing Synthroid is more effective than Levoxyl and two generics
1986 – Boots America acquires Flint from Baxter Travenol Laboratories for $555M
1990 – UCSF study completed showing that Synthroid is bioequivalent to generics
1991 – Boots attempts unsuccessfully to terminate study
1994 – Dr. Dong submits final draft of manuscript to Boots
1995 – under legal pressure by Boots, thyroid article is withdrawn from publication in JAMA
1995 – Knoll Pharmaceuticals acquires Boots
1995 – BASF AG acquires Knoll for $1.4B
1997 – UCSF study results published in JAMA
1997 – FDA revokes approval status for all brands of levothyroxine
2001 – Abbott Laboratories acquires BASF AG
2002 – Synthroid receives FDA approval
2011 – Abbott announces plan to separate medical products and pharmaceuticals into two companies
2013 – Abbott spins off research-based pharmaceuticals company as AbbVie
[About.com] Synthroid Information Center
[WSJ] Bitter Pill: How a Drug Firm Paid For University Study, Then Undermined It
The levothyroxine spectrum: Bioequivalence and cost considerations