Pharmaceuticals Production at Pharma Chemical

Pharma Chemical manufactured the following pharmaceuticals beginning in 1918:

1) Salophen- analgesic, antipyretic, anti-inflammatory properties. Manufactured under contract with
Bayer:

2) Phenacetin-analgesic, antipyretic properties. Synthesis by ethylation of p-Nitrophenol with Ethyl
Chloride, reduction of the nitro group and acetylation with Acetic Anhydride:

3) Sulfonal-hypnotic property. Synthesis by condensing Ethyl Mercaptan with Acetone and oxidizing with
Potassium Permanganate. Pharma may have had license from Bayer:

4) Guaiacol Carbonate-expectorant property. Synthesis by reaction of Phosgene with Guaiacol
(o-Methoxyphenol) in aqueous Sodium Hydroxide:

5) Creosote Carbonate-expectorant, antiseptic properties. It is a mixture of the carbonates of creosote
components, mainly Guaiacol and Cresol. Manufactured under contract with Hoffman-La Roche.

6) Halocrine-intermediate (2-Methoxy-6,9-Dichloroacridine) manufactured by Pharma during WW II, likely
for Winthrop Chemicals' production of the anti-malarial drug Atabrine:

The early production of pharmaceuticals at the Pharma Chemical plant in Bayonne was done under crude operating conditions.
Neighbors complained about odors in 1920, prompting an investigation by Hudson County Prosecutor of Pleas Pierre Garvan, who
was former Mayor of Bayonne. Garvan hired Dr. Victor L. King, a highly respected chemist working for Calco Chemical, to conduct
an inspection of the Pharma Chemical plant. He filed three reports with Garvan that identified safety and environmental problems at
the plant and included recommendations for better air pollution control and safer handling of phosgene. An injunction was not
issued, so it is presumed that Pharma Chemical either implemented the required engineering controls or stopped production of
Sulfonal.

Dr. King's reports are reproduced below, with permission from Dartmouth College Library, Rauner Special Collections: