Miles Laboratories

Miles Laboratories

Company type	Subsidiary (from 1979 to 1995)
Industry	Pharmaceutical
Predecessor	Dr. Miles Medical Company
Founded	January 1, 1884 (1884-01-01) in Elkhart, Indiana, United States
Founder	Dr. Franklin L. Miles
Defunct	1995 (1995)
Fate	Fully integrated into Bayer's North American division
Headquarters	Pittsburgh (from 1992), later New Jersey (from 1994) , United States
Area served	North America
Products	Alka-Seltzer, One-A-Day vitamins, Flintstones Vitamins, Chocks chewable vitamins, Kogenate, Gamimune-N, blood glucose test strips and meters
Number of employees	3,300 (1960s-1970s)
Parent	Bayer AG (from 1979 to 1995)

Miles Laboratories began as the Dr. Miles Medical Company, a pharmaceutical firm established in Elkhart, Indiana in 1884 by Dr. Franklin L. Miles, an expert in eye and ear conditions with an emphasis on how the nervous system affects health. The company gained recognition for products including Alka-Seltzer and One-A-Day vitamins.

From its founding until 1979, Miles functioned independently before becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of Bayer AG, a status it maintained until 1995. During its height in the 1960s and 1970s, the company employed approximately 3,300 individuals and manufactured more than twenty products.

In 1995, Miles was fully integrated into Bayer’s North American division.

History

By 1890, the popularity of "Dr. Miles Restorative Nervine," a patent remedy targeting nervous disorders, allowed the company to establish a mail-order operation. This product remained available as a sedative until the late 1960s and is regarded as an early forerunner to modern tranquilizers.

The firm played a pivotal role in the landmark 1911 Supreme Court decision Dr. Miles Medical Co. v. John D. Park & Sons Co., which declared resale price maintenance inherently illegal, shaping future antitrust legislation.

In 1932, the company adopted the name Dr. Miles Laboratories, later shortened to Miles Laboratories in 1935. It expanded through acquisition by purchasing Chemical Specialties Inc. in 1947.

During World War II, Miles contributed to the US military effort by producing items such as packaged coffee rations.

Miles introduced One-A-Day Vitamins and created Chocks, the first chewable multivitamins designed for children, which were eventually succeeded by Flintstones Vitamins.

The merger with Worthington Foods in 1970 enabled Miles to enter the vegetarian food market under the Morningstar Farms label, which was later sold to Kellogg's in 1999.

Bayer AG acquired Miles Laboratories and its Canadian operations in 1979 to reestablish its presence in North America after losing its aspirin business during World War I. This purchase included notable brands such as Alka-Seltzer, Flintstones Vitamins, One-A-Day, Bactine, S.O.S Soap Pads, and Worthington Foods.

Under Bayer’s ownership, Miles developed biologically derived medications like Kogenate and Gamimune-N alongside diagnostic tools such as blood glucose test strips and meters. The company also controlled Cutter Laboratories, recognized for insect repellents and synthetic human Factor VIII used by hemophiliacs.

In 1992, Bayer moved Miles’ US headquarters from Elkhart to Pittsburgh; two years later it relocated again to New Jersey and announced plans to phase out the Miles brand following its acquisition of Sterling Winthrop.

Additional US facilities included a site in West Haven, Connecticut—now part of Bayer AG—which was sold to Yale University in 2007 for academic and research purposes.

Between 2011 and 2012, the former Miles campus located in Elkhart was vacated and subsequently demolished.