Financial History Issue 113 (Spring 2015) | Page 37
Toronto first produced insulin, a pancreatic
extract that had a seemingly miraculous
effect on diabetics. After two years of work,
the company perfected the method to produce commercial quantities of that extract,
bringing it extraordinary sales and profits.
During the next few decades, it pioneered
the synthesis of other drugs, and became an
important producer of penicillin.
By 1950, this private company had about
200 stockholders, most of whom were
employees or descendants of the founder.
It achieved partial public ownership by
floating a limited number of shares in the
over-the-counter stock market in 1952; in
July 1970, it offered more shares and made
trading more feasible through a listing on
the New York Stock Exchange.
that were available only as fluid extracts
of unstable and varying potency or pills
that were not easily dissolved in the st