Sterling's Economic Warfare

For more than two years, the biggest U.S. drug manufacturer, Sterling Drug Inc., has been purging itself of its prewar Germanic taint by flooding Latin America, where it used to act as agent for huge I. G. Farbenindustrie, with strictly U.S. drugs. In so doing, it: 1) surprised itself by making a lot of money (over $700,000 last year, almost 10% of its total net income); 2) became a potent agent in U.S. economic warfare. Starting from 'scratch on aspirin, for example -- which used to be a $3,500,000-a-year I. G. business -- Sterling has now developed more than that for its own trademarked product. Total gross in Latin America: $10,000,000 a year.

This activity is certain to hamper postwar German attempts to recapture Latin American drug markets. But last week Sterling's stocky, blue-eyed. 46-year-old President James Hill jr. proudly announced that his company was about to deal the Nazis an even shrewder clout. At the express request of the U.S. Alien Property Custodian (and at a guesstimated cost of more than $50,000) Sterling is applying to six Latin American countries, starting with Ecuador" and Costa Rica, for permission to buy up some 120 of I., G. Farben's most venerable trademarks -- including the famed Bayer aspirin cross.* Thereafter, the trademarks will be kept off the market and German exporters will be forced to promote brand-new trade names.

Sterling will bid only for trademarks of products which it makes. And up to now, German trademarks in most South American countries have not been for sale because of legal technicalities, etc. But there is hope that Sterling's start will encourage similar action by other U.S. firms and Latin American Governments.

* In the U.S., the Bayer cross has belonged to Sterling since its predecessor company bought the Bayer assets from the Alien Property Custodian during World War I. But in Latin America the name and trademark, like those of many another famed pharmaceutical (e.g., salvarsan, luminal, atabrine) have always been German-owned.

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