[4] In pharmaceutical industry, Germany was considered the world's medicine cabinet in late 20th century after German firms invented the pharmaceutical industry in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and recovered from the World War II.
That gave the European pharmaceutical industry the world's medicine chest title until the 1990s.
As a result, some major companies started to relocate operation, research and other divisions including headquarters to the United States.
[5][6] In the 1950s, New Jersey had been leading pharmaceutical industry in the United States, and it was given a nickname of Medicine Chest of the Nation at that time.
[10] As of 2012, two of the top ten companies are based in New Jersey[11] after Wyeth was acquired by New York-based firm, Pfizer in 2009.