Fisons

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Fisons Plc was a British pharmaceutical, scientific instrument and horticultural chemical maufacturer based in Ipswich, in the United Kingdom.

Fisons origin goes back to Edward Packard, one of the first to manufacture superphosphate in 1843. It takes its name from the 1808 company of James Fison of Thetford which it acquired in 1919. The company grew to be one of the largest in its UK sector by acquiring competitors throughout the twentieth century.

Fisons fertilizer activities were taken over by Norsk Hydro in 1982.

In 1995 a phase III compound failed in develpopment and with a mature portfolio and meager early pipeline, the outlook was bleak. This led to a board decision to dissolve the company. The instruments unit was sold to U.S. Thermo Instrument Systems while the R&D facilities in Loughborough and Rochester, New York with pipeline was acquired by Swedish Astra AB. The inline medicines of Fisons plc were acquired by Pennsylvania-based Rhone-Poulenc Rorer, Inc., which in turn was wholly owned by France's chemical giant Rhone-Poulenc S.A.

Fisons were sponsors of Ipswich Town Football Club in the early 1990s, including the 1991-92 season when they won the Second Division championship and gained promotion to the new Premier League.