Astra AB is a former international pharmaceutical company based in Södertälje, Sweden. Astra was formed in 1913 and merged with the British Zeneca Group in 1999 to form AstraZeneca. Product development was focused on therapeutics for gastrointestinal, cardiovascular and respiratory disorders and pain control. Astra also operated Astra Tech, a medical devices company, and marketed pharmaceuticals outside their primary development area, including anti-infective agents. Södertälje [søːdə˘ʈɛljÉ™] is a Municipality in Stockholm County, in central Sweden. ... 1913 (MCMXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... AstraZeneca PLC (LSE: AZN, NYSE: AZN), is a large Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical company formed on 6 April 1999 by the merger of Swedish Astra AB and British Zeneca Group. ... Gastroenterology or gastrology is the medical specialty concerned with the field of digestive diseases. ... Cardiology is the branch of medicine dealing with disorders of the heart and blood vessels. ... In medicine, pulmonology (aka pneumology) is the specialty that deals with diseases of the lungs and the respiratory tract. ... Anesthesia or anaesthesia (see spelling differences) has traditionally meant the process of blocking the perception of pain and other sensations. ... In medicine, infectious disease or communicable disease is disease caused by a biological agent such as by a virus, bacterium or parasite. ...

Reference

• Staff. Merger partners in brief. AstraZeneca. Retrieved on 2006-08-19.