please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . april 2007 learn how and when to remove this template message chattem inc. type subsidiary industry healthcare over the counter drug manufacturing founded tennessee january 30 1879 as the chattanooga medicine company headquarters chattanooga tennessee key people zan guerry chairman shaquille o neal brand spokesman icyhot and gold bond products allegra gold bond act mouthwash cortizone 10 flexall icyhot sun in ultra swim pamprin premsyn kaopectate dexatrim aspercreme selsun blue nasacort unisom capzasin benzodent herpecin l garlique and new phase revenue 463 3 million usd 2009 number of employees 536 1 parent sanofi website chattem.com chattem is an american chattanooga tennessee based producer and marketer of over the counter healthcare products toiletries dietary supplements topical analgesics and medicated skin care products . originally named the chattanooga medicine company the company s brand portfolio holds twenty two brands including allegra gold bond flexall icyhot rolaids sun in pamprin dexatrim aspercreme and selsun blue . two thirds of chattem s products are produced by the company at its chattanooga production facilities with the remaining produced by third party producers . the company is a subsidiary of the french multinational pharmaceutical company sanofi . the company s brands are sold nationally through mass merchandiser drug and food retailers . in 2005 70 % of all sales by the firm were made through its top ten customers which include wal mart walgreens and kroger . sales to wal mart constituted 36 % of chattem s total sales in 2005 . chattem supports these sales with a forty five person sales force and broadcast media advertising . chattem has market penetration in the united states europe canada latin america and the caribbean . contents 1 history 2 recent events 3 references 4 external links history edit chattem was founded by zeboim cartter patten as the chattanooga medicine company in 1879 . the company incorporated in 1909 and has remained in chattanooga tennessee to this day . during world war ii the chattanooga medicine company turned into a major supplier of k rations to the us army producing 34 million rations from 1942 to 1945 earning 5 e awards for support of war efforts . 2 the firm adopted chattem as its name and went public in 1969 . chattem s top and bottom lines grew significantly from 1989 through 1992 . the source of this growth was the company s strategy of purchasing under marketed consumer brands and aggressively marketing those already in its portfolio . in 1993 chattem experienced a 14 % decline in sales as a result of the loss of warner lambert s rolaids business . to fund a one time special dividend in 1994 75 million in high yield bonds were issued . in january 2013 chattem acquired the full rights to rolaids which had seen its brand effectively wounded under the ownership of johnson & johnson s mcneil consumer healthcare with a series of product recalls and quality control issues throughout 2010 that ended with most of the rolaids line discontinued . 3 the product was returned to the market with new trade dress by chattem in september 2013 though production of rolaids is not currently expected to return to chattanooga . 4 recent events edit in october 2006 chattem announced that it would acquire five brands for 410 million as a result of the merger between johnson & johnson and the consumer healthcare business of pfizer . these brands are act anti cavity mouthwash unisom cortizone 10 kaopectate balmex diaper rash ointment pending the us government s approval of the merger of johnson & johnson and pfizer chattem will acquire five brands divested from the firms . chattem has announced that it expects to take possession of the brands around january 2007 . these are very mature brands and will provide 150 million in additional revenue to chattem per year . citation needed on december 21 2009 paris based france sanofi the world s fourth largest drugmaker said it was acquiring chattem in a 1.9 billion cash deal . sanofi said that the acquisition would be completed by the first quarter of 2010 . 5 references edit http en.sanofi.com images 16370 chattem presentation 2010 03 en.pdf http chattem.com about08.asp friedman alexi 8 january 2013 . johnson & johnson sells its troubled rolaids brand to sanofi . the star ledger . retrieved 9 september 2013 . pare mike 9 january 2013 . rolaids next on chattanooga based chattem s plate . chattanooga times free press . retrieved 9 september 2013 . sanofi to acquire chattem the economic times december 22 2009 external links edit v t e sanofi predecessors sanofi synth labo aventis hoechst rh ne poulenc cassella roussel uclaf marion merrell dow ceos chris viehbacher olivier brandicourt main products cardiovascular aprovel coaprovel tritace thrombosis plavix clexane oncology taxotere eloxatin diabetes amaryl apidra lantus central nervous system depakine chrono internal medicine actonel arava avil avipect bi profenid bronchicum claforan daonil flagyl hemoclar lanzor lasix maalox maalox plus proctosedyl targocid tavanic telfast trental chattem inc. consumer products v t e chattem inc. subsidiary of sanofi brands allegra gold bond act mouthwash balmex diaper rash ointment rolaids cortizone 10 flexall icyhot sun in ultra swim pamprin premsyn kaopectate dexatrim aspercreme selsun blue nasacort unisom capzasin benzodent herpecin l garlique new phase v t e chattem inc. subsidiary of sanofi brands allegra gold bond act mouthwash balmex diaper rash ointment rolaids cortizone 10 flexall icyhot sun in ultra swim pamprin premsyn kaopectate dexatrim aspercreme selsun blue nasacort unisom capzasin benzodent herpecin l garlique new phase retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title chattem & oldid 735209000 categories chattemsanoficompanies established in 1879companies based in chattanooga 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