The second and perhaps the last blockbuster product for Upjohn in the modern era was Xanax, the chemical name for which is Alprazolam. But to tell the Xanax story, we must start with Halcion.

Halcion, the chemical name for which is Triazolam, is a benzodiazopine that is used for short-term treatment of acute insomnia and circadian rythym sleep disorders, including jet lag. It is ideal for this use because of its fast onset of action and short half-life.

Triazolam was discovered and initially patented by Hoffman-La Roche in 1970.  The Upjohn Company bought the rights to sell it and it went on sale in the United States during 1982 using the product name Halcion. Tablet strengths were 0.125 mg and 0.25 mg. Halcion sold well and made Upjohn good money. However, it was a controversial drug that led to a lot of lawsuits. Health warnings were added to the labeling later.

Alprazolam differs from Triazolam by the addition of one chlorine atom. It was discovered by Jackson Hester Jr. in the Downtown Kalamazoo Upjohn Labs. It was patented by Upjohn in 1971 and approved in the United States during 1981. Alprazolam is used in the management of anxiety disorders, panic disorders and nausia due to chemotherapy. It's very good for getting a good night's sleep, too. Xanax tablet strengths were 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg and 1 mg.

Halcion and Xanax tablets were initially made in Building 41 Portage but in 1984, production was moved to Puerto Rico. I was part of the project team to make that transfer. Combined sales in 1987 were $536 Million, which was a lot of money back then.

When patents expired for Xanax and Halcion, it was a huge hit to company profits. Upjohn struggled to come up with another big product. The lack of another blockbuster eventually led to the merger with Pharmacia in 1995. 

Wikipedia page for Triazolam

Wikipedia Page for Alprazolam