Solvay Pharmaceuticals is part of The Solvay Group, a group of chemical and pharmaceutical companies, founded in 1863 by founding father Ernest Solvay. Solvay has a long experience in organic chemistry, therefore it was natural for the group to take part in the development of life sciences. This was set up as a separate health sector in the 1950’s.

Solvay gained a firm foothold in the new sector by acquiring several pharmaceutical companies with their own innovative R&D. At first Kali-Chemie (now Solvay Pharmaceuticals GmbH, Germany) was acquired, followed by Latema and Sarbach (later on merged to Solvay Pharma, France) and Duphar (presently Solvay Pharmaceuticals B.V., The Netherlands) and Reid-Rowell (presently Solvay Pharmaceuticals Inc., USA). Recent co-operation agreements have opened up worldwide markets for our pharmaceutical activities.