National Chemical Heritage 2023

This historic building, located at Pivot Park in Oss, played a crucial role in the invention of the contraceptive pill. The pill has been one of the most important discoveries of the 20^th century and it put Oss on the map as a pharma city. KNCV chairwoman Yvonne van der Meer summed it up beautifully: ‘As far as I’m concerned, the municipality of Oss is not just the City of Life Sciences, but the Capital of Life Sciences.’ All of this began 100 years ago with the innovations in, amongst others, the Banting building.

It is no coincidence that the designation of the heritage site comes at the same time as the 100th anniversary of the founding of Organon. The Chemistry History Group of the KNCV had long had its eye on the Banting building, but waited until Organon’s centenary to make the occasion even more celebratory. Various speakers, including Organon’s former archivist and an alderman from the municipality of Oss, spoke about the significance of the building for the development of medicines and its impact on Oss. Poems were also recited in the magnificent stairwell of the Banting building, after which Yvonne van der Meer and Brigitte Drees, CEO of Pivot Park, unveiled the plaque in pouring rain.