History
The company founded by Elio Bracco was established in 1927 in Milan with the name Società Italiana Prodotti E Merck, to produce, package and sell the chemical products of the German company E. Merck. It had just five employees. In 1934 Fulvio Bracco, Elio's son, officially joined the company which, the same year, began marketing Cebion, an innovative product based on vitamin C, recently discovered by the Hungarian biochemist Albert Szent-Györgyi. In 1962 Bracco researchers created the first contrast agent based on their original research: iodamide, a product with very high tolerability. On 17 March 1977 Diana Bracco, Fulvio's daughter, was appointed Bracco General Manager.
In 1981 the company launched Iopamidol in Italy and Germany. In the second half of the 1980s, Bracco Spa became the leading international producer of non-ionic contrast agents. It also won a positive response and important results for other formulations, including the anti-tuberculosis drug pyrazinamide, of which Bracco is the leading world producer, which is included in the WHO list of essential pharmaceuticals.
In 1990, Bracco began a ten-year period of important growth. At international level, acquisitions and joint ventures enhanced the Group structure. In 1990 the Bracco Eisai joint venture was set up in Japan. In 1994 Bracco acquired Squibb Diagnostic, a company in the Bristol Myers Squibb group in the United States, which is still Bracco Imaging's largest market today. 1995 saw the integration of the three research centres in Milan, Geneva and Princeton: Milan focuses on the research and development of contrast agents for radiology and magnetic resonance, Bracco Research Geneva on ultrasound and Bracco Research USA Princeton on magnetic resonance and nuclear medicine.
1999 was a milestone year for the company: the Bracco family and the Merck Group reached an agreement under which Bracco bought Merck's 50% stake in the Group's diagnostic and pharmaceuticals operations. In 2001, the Bracco Group acquired ACIST Medical Systems, a US company based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis, active in advanced contrast-agent management and injection systems. Meanwhile, the Group's international growth continued, with more offices opening around the world. Since 2002 Bracco has had a direct presence in China with Bracco Sine Pharmaceutical Corp. Ltd. in Shanghai. In 2008 it acquired E-Z-EM, a leading company in the radiology sector. In 2010 Bracco entered Estonia, Scandinavia and South Korea. In 2011 Bracco Imaging acquired Swiss Medical Care (now Bracco Injeneering) and the Nycomed production plants in Singen (Germany). In 2012 it completed the acquisitions of Justesa in Argentina, Mexico and Brazil.
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