The company was founded in 1907 by Alexander Block, a Russian immigrant who had a small drugstore on Fulton Street in Brooklyn, New York. He turned the company into a wholesaler in 1915, then became a drug manufacturer in 1925, acquiring a 50 percent interest in Wernet's Dental Manufacturing Company.[1]
Block Drug moved its headquarters to Jersey City, New Jersey in 1938.[4]
Although Alexander Block built the company largely through acquisitions, he developed the Polident brand internally during the 1930s.[5] After Alexander Block's death in 1953,[5] his son Leonard N. Block (1911–2005)[4] took over, eventually becoming the company's chairman.[5]
- 1948 – introduced Ammi-i-Dent tooth powder[6][7]
- early 1950s – Nytol.[8]
- 1964 – introduced Tegrin [5]
- 1971 – The company went public, trading on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol BLOCA and raising $5.2 million in its initial offering.[8] Two years later, another stock sale generated $23 million.[8] Later in the 1970s, Efferdent took over from Polident as the No. 1 brand in its space.[5]
- 1972 – Block named as its president James Block, who was the grandson of Alexander Block and the nephew of Leonard N. Block.[5] In 1988, James became chairman as his uncle, Leonard N. Block became senior chairman.[8] At the same time, Leonard N. Block's son, Thomas, became the company's president.[8][9]
- 1978 – Block Drug entered the feminine hygiene market, with the ultimately unsuccessful Gentle Spring brand.[10]
- 1982 – The company acquired Phazyme/700 from the Stuart division of ICI, leading to the OTC entrance of Phazyme.
- 1983 – The company acquired Passaic, New Jersey–based 2000 Flushes toilet bowl cleaner manufacturer Flushco.[8] In 1985, Block Drug acquired the X-14 line of hard surface cleaners from White Laboratories.[8] Block Drug later acquired Gold Bond in 1987.
- 1990s – Sales began to fall as Block Drug's products began to age and face new competition, and the problem was exacerbated by a lack of new products.[8]
- 1990 – Block Drug sold Gold Bond to Martin Himmel Inc.
- 1995 – Block Drug divested its U.S. Reed and Carnrick Pharmaceuticals Division to Schwarz Pharma KermersUrban and also purchased Reckitt and Colman's Carpet Fresh and Rug Fresh cleaning and deodorizing products.[9]
- Late 1995 – The company acquired the Lava soap brand from Procter & Gamble.[9]
- 1996 – Block Drug purchased the Baby's Own line of baby care products, and then acquired Beano antigas tablets in 1997.[9]
- 1998 – A major restructuring took place but was not successful.[8] As part of that, the company divested Carpet Fresh, Rug Fresh, 2000 Flushes and X-14.[9] Lava was later sold to WD-40 Company the following year.
- 1999 – The company acquired Salisbury, N.C.–based Stanback Co., manufacturer of Stanback headache powder products.[11]
- 2000 – Block Drug hired Goldman Sachs as an adviser to evaluate a potential sale.[12]
- 2001 – At the time of its sale to Glaxo, Block Drug was reported to have $900 million in annual sales, operations in 100 countries and employed 3,000 people.[2]
Although Block Drug was a public company from 1971 until 2001, it operated much like a private, family-run firm, with the Block family holding all voting shares plus 54 percent of the non-voting stock. In addition, the company never held annual meetings or issued proxy statements.[8]
