Philanthropist or the father of aggressive pharma sales?? A look at Ewing Marion Kauffman, founder of Marion Laboratories.

I decided to do a deep dive on Ewing Marion Kauffman, the founder of Marion Labs and owner of the Kansas City Royals. He passed away in 1993. In a city that has the last name Kauffman on numerous buildings and endowments, understanding the history of the money is important. I preface this by saying what I am about to discuss comes from researching on the interwebs, and if you choose to deep dive on this you will find the same information I did. Grok was also super helpful!

What led me down this path was a post by Dr. McCullough with this study: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9481001/

This study from 1998 discussed the following:

To determine if there is evidence for a causal relationship between acute encephalopathy followed by permanent brain injury or death associated with the administration of further attenuated measles vaccines (Attenuvax or Lirugen, Hoechst Marion Roussel, Kansas City, MO), mumps vaccine (Mumpsvax, Merck and Co, Inc, West Point, PA), or rubella vaccines (Meruvax or Meruvax II, Merck and Co, Inc, West Point, PA), combined measles and rubella vaccine (M-R-Vax or M-R-Vax II, Merck and Co, Inc, West Point, PA), or combined measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine (M-M-R or M-M-R II, Merck and Co, Inc, West Point, PA), the lead author reviewed claims submitted to the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program.

Methods: The medical records of children who met the inclusion criteria of receiving the first dose of these vaccines between 1970 and 1993 and who developed such an encephalopathy with no determined cause within 15 days were identified and analyzed.

Results: A total of 48 children, ages 10 to 49 months, met the inclusion criteria after receiving measles vaccine, alone or in combination. Eight children died, and the remainder had mental regression and retardation, chronic seizures, motor and sensory deficits, and movement disorders. The onset of neurologic signs or symptoms occurred with a nonrandom, statistically significant distribution of cases on days 8 and 9. No cases were identified after the administration of monovalent mumps or rubella vaccine.

Conclusions: This clustering suggests that a causal relationship between measles vaccine and encephalopathy may exist as a rare complication of measles immunization.

**so this information alone deserves its own post, because this is a 27 year old study that SHOWED causal linkage between measles vaccines and neurological injury and death in children. However, the links it has to Kansas City also needed to be explored.

I noticed the Kansas City, MO location of the Measles vaccine. I knew it was originally Marion Laboratories, founded by Ewing Marion Kauffman. I decided to learn the history of him and his career in pharmaceuticals. Marion Kauffman started his career with Lincoln Laboratories after his early jobs and Navy service during World War II (1942–1945). As a salesman, he traveled across Missouri and Kansas, pitching the company’s products—likely vitamins, supplements, or basic medications—to physicians and pharmacists. His success as a top performer highlighted his sales talent, but a pivotal moment came when his boss reduced his commissions despite his strong results, prompting Kauffman to leave and start his own venture. Other sources say that his commissions were earning him a higher paycheck than his bosses, so they cut his commissions. He left Lincoln Labs and started his own business, Marion Labs.

Founded in 1950 by Ewing Marion Kauffman in Kansas City, Missouri, Marion Laboratories began as a small operation in Kauffman’s basement, initially selling calcium supplements like Os-Cal. It grew rapidly by focusing on innovative sales and marketing rather than extensive in-house research, they operated by acquiring and licensing products to build its portfolio. By the 1980s, Marion had become a significant player, particularly with the success of Cardizem(diltiazem), a calcium channel blocker for hypertension and angina, which became a blockbuster drug generating hundreds of millions in annual revenue. The company was known for its strong sales force and profitability.

Marion Labs had one problem: they were GREAT at sales, but had no R&D. They sold drugs created by other people. So to fix that problem, they did a merger and Marion Merrell Dow was formed in 1989 when Marion Laboratories, who was marketing savvy, bought Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, a research-oriented subsidiary of Dow Chemical, to create a balanced pharmaceutical powerhouse. This merger leveraged their complementary strengths. Marion could sell the drugs that Merrell Dow created.

In 1995, Hoechst AG acquired Marion Merrell Dow for $7.1 billion, integrating it into Hoechst Marion Roussel. By the 2000’s, HMR was acquired by Aventis, and the original roots of Marion Laboratories and their mergers are now under the current Sanofi name.

So this is where it gets interesting. Remember Mr. Kauffman’s roots: sales. Well guess what? Mr. Kauffman is credited with the current model of pharmaceutical sales!! He built a highly motivated sales force, treating reps as “associates” with profit-sharing and incentives, fostering loyalty and drive. He had great success with this selling Os-Cal and later acquisitions like Silvadene (burn treatment) and Pavabid (vasodilator) and his big cash cow, Cardizem(diltiazem), which became a blockbuster drug for hypertension and angina, pushing the company’s revenue into the hundreds of millions by the 1980s.

What was his model?

1. Focus on Sales Over Research

Unlike many competitors who prioritized in-house R&D, Marion Labs focused on acquiring or licensing existing drugs and maximizing their market potential through sales. This strategy emphasized the power of sales execution over scientific innovation, a model that became more common in the industry.

2. Innovative Sales Force Structure

Kauffman built a highly motivated, well-compensated sales team, often referred to as "associates" rather than employees, fostering a sense of ownership and loyalty. He offered profit-sharing and incentives, which were unusual at the time, boosting morale and productivity. Marion’s sales reps were trained to be persuasive, relationship-focused, and persistent, targeting physicians directly with samples, detailed product information, and personal engagement—tactics that became hallmarks of modern "detailing." (Modern detailing is the info sheet that pharma reps have on all providers so they know all about you; your kids, your hobbies, your favorite food, where you vacation, etc so they can appear “relatable and personable like they care about you.)

3. Aggressive Marketing and Expansion

Marion Labs pioneered rapid sales force expansion to blanket key markets. By the 1980s, its sales team grew significantly to push Cardizem, which became a blockbuster drug, generating over $1 billion annually by the late 1980s after the merger into Marion Merrell Dow. This scale and intensity of field sales efforts set a precedent for how companies could drive blockbuster drugs through direct physician outreach.

4. Cultural Impact

Kauffman’s philosophy of “Treat people as human beings, not as numbers” created a sales culture that balanced aggression with relationship-building, influencing how pharmaceutical companies trained and managed reps. This approach helped professionalize the role, moving it beyond mere product-pushing to a more strategic, consultative interaction with healthcare providers.

Today’s pharma sales model, characterized by highly trained reps, data-driven targeting (e.g., using prescription data to identify high-prescribing doctors), and integration with digital marketing, were built on the foundation Marion helped solidify. Marion’s emphasis on sales force scale, motivation, and physician engagement remains a core component. Marion Laboratories significantly shaped the modern version of pharmaceutical sales by demonstrating how an innovative, motivated sales force could transform modest drugs into market leaders. Its strategies were widely adopted and adapted, contributing to the professionalized, aggressive sales culture that defines much of the industry today.

Oh yeah and he owned the Kansas City Royals, the stadium is named Kauffman Stadium, they own the Kauffman Performing Arts building for symphonies and ballet performances…..and Marion and his wife Muriel’s burial spot is in a beautiful garden over by the Plaza area in a place named……you guess it…..Kauffman Gardens. It should be noted that during covid, you could not enter the Kauffman Performing Arts building without a covid vaccine card. We shouldn’t be surprised here.

The more you know. Who knew Kansas City and Marion Laboratories was the birth place of modern day pharma sales?!