Laboratoires Anphar was a French pharmaceutical company based in Paris, active in the mid-20th century. The company is known for developing specialty drugs and was later absorbed into larger pharmaceutical groups. Its visual identity, created in 1962, is a documented example of mid-century French pharmaceutical branding.
Design and History
The Laboratoires Anphar symbol was designed by Etienne Bucher in 1962, according to logo archive records that describe the mark as a circle or ring-shaped design.[1] The logo archive categorizes the mark as a circle logo with a ring element, reflecting a geometric, restrained approach common in pharmaceutical branding of that period.[1]
Company history places Anphar within a chain of French pharmaceutical mergers. In 1962, the Laboratoires Anphar were absorbed by the Laboratoire de l’Hépatrol, bringing with them the specialty drug Perclusone.[2] In 1976, Anphar introduced the diuretic Diflurex, which became a commercial success.[2] In 1981, the two laboratories merged under the name Laboratoires Anphar-Rolland, with a catalog of about forty specialties.[2] The following year, the company was sold to Lipha and merged with Laboratoires Aron to form the Anphar-Aron division.[2]
Anphar Rolland Laboratories also established a production site in Pithiviers in 1973, which was acquired by Lipha in 1978.[3] The Diflurex drug was withdrawn from the market in 1991 after being suspected of causing hepatitis.[2]
Meaning and Symbolism
Documented symbolism for the 1962 Anphar mark is limited. The logo archive identifies the design as a circle or ring-shaped symbol but does not record an official interpretation of its meaning.[1] No primary source describing the intended symbolism of the mark has been located.
Typography and Design
The logo archive records the design as a circle logo with a ring element, created in 1962, but does not specify the typeface used.[1]
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