Hedison Pharmaceuticals

**Hedison Pharmaceuticals** is a American medical and medical supply company based in Ashford Falls, New York that manufactures prescription pharmaceuticals in several therapeutic areas, including cancer, weight loss, HIV/AIDS, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hepatitis, rheumatoid arthritis and psychiatric disorders. It also focuses on manufacturing and distributing medical care products through its axuilarry locations, such as wheelchairs, bed pans, pill cases, breathing devices, medical tools and dialysis devices among other items.

Founded by Carter Hedison in 1953 on the ashes of the *New World Medicine Group*, he expanded the company by merging it with several other smaller medical companies and adding their owners to his table of stockholders, gradually over time adding new stock holders loyal to him, then forcing the owners of the smaller companies out of their seats through bribery, pay-offs, blackmail and other means. His table of stock holders includes Dr. Alan Fairwood, Dr. Lloyd Hall, Robert Whaley, James Gratz, Marla Hill, Carl Griggs, Dr. Albert Waverly, Theodore Spalding and briefly Madelyne Troy, who sold her shares to Carter's rival, philanthropist J. Peter Reason. Entrepreneur Nate Featherstone, another rival of Carter, also briefly owned shares of the company, but he sold them to yet another of Carter's rivals, Jack Gates.

During his control of the company as the owner and chief stock-holder, Carter Hedison has used legitimate and illegitimate means to increase the company's standing as a Fortune 500 company, often by stealing patents from rivals, insider trading and cheating investors. One of his most devious ploys was by trying to steal the formula for the Meta-Pill from Fletcher DuBois and then from his daughter, Janet DuBois. From within his company, his own employees have tried to defraud the company by acquiring faulty or incompetent medical equipment from less than reputable sources. Rufus Tanner, a representative of his sales department, stole five million dollars by purchasing and selling fifty dialysis machines to the company recovered from a flooded warehouse in Florida. One of his researchers, Geoffrey Overall, misappropriated three million dollars in personal experiments of an unknown nature. Carter's own daughter, Rachel Hedison, in an attempt to seize the company, distributed a series of experimental pills from Fletcher DuBois to Blake Hedison that had serious degenerating effects to his body.

For much of 1989 and part of 1990, Carter's son, Blake Hedison ran the company following his father's stroke and resulting coma. During his more reputable control of the company, Hedison Pharmaceuticals started struggling financially, and on his recovery, Carter started making illegal deals to help the company recover, such as attempting to sell the Winchester Hotel, which his wife, Monica Hedison, had left to her children, and supporting Carl Griggs as mayor of Ashford Falls to alter the local building and property taxes in the area. He also tried to hire Fletcher DuBois into his company, but that attempt failed due to the inference of writer Jack Gable. With the company again starting to prosper, Carter decided on expanding the size of the building by trying to gain the property where Ashford Falls Grammar School rested for a parking lot.

In 1991, with his health declining again, Carter left Blake in control of Hedison Pharmaceuticals once more, but by 1995, it was nearing a hostile takeover by Rachel and her Dynasty Foundation buying up shares in the company, a ploy that actually allowed her take over the company. With the help of Janet DuBois, Dr. Paul Kirkwood and Bobbi Pierce, Blake managed to get Rachel to sell her controlling shares and place it in the control of the stock-holders, who placed Blake back in control.