Sun, 14 Dec 2025

Sun, 14 Dec 2025 How 100-year-old firm went from Hull to Hollywood

East Yorkshire-based Croda developed a treatment for a rare disease – a story retold by Hollywood.
Croda International, a FTSE 100 company, was founded in 1925 in East Yorkshire and has since grown from humble beginnings in a disused waterworks. The company is celebrating its centenary and has looked back on its role in developing a treatment for a rare degenerative condition affecting young boys. This story was retold in the 1992 film Lorenzo's Oil, starring Nick Nolte and Susan Sarandon. The city of Hull became involved when the parents of an American boy named Lorenzo Odone approached Croda with a potential treatment using acids from olive and rapeseed oils. Don Suddaby, a chemist at Croda, was persuaded to distil the formula, which became known as Lorenzo's oil. The film depicts this story. Keith Layden, a non-executive director at Croda, recalls how the company was approached by Augusto Odone with his idea and hypothesis. Keith Coupland, the technical director at the time, got in touch with Mr Suddaby to work on the project. Croda's first home was a disused waterworks in Rawcliffe Bridge, near Goole. The company has since expanded into various products and now produces ingredients for skincare, pharmaceutical, homecare and agricultural products. Today, Croda supplies ingredients that can be found in many daily products. The company set up a healthcare division after the film's release and went on to develop significant treatments for hundreds of millions of people. During the Covid pandemic, Croda was integral to the production and manufacture of an mRNA-based vaccine. Sandra Breene, president of consumer care, notes that universities play a crucial role in providing young talent for the industry. The University of Hull has decided to close its chemistry department, which she says is sad news. Lorenzo Odone lived 20 years longer than predicted with the help of his father's treatment. However, scientific studies showed that it did not seem to work for those already ill but may have helped prevent illness in those vulnerable to developing symptoms. The treatment is still produced today.
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