German Homeopathy Union
| German Homeopathy Union DHU-Arzneimittel GmbH & Co. KG
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| legal form | GmbH & Co. KG |
| founding | 1961 Dortmund, from 1971 Karlsruhe-Grötzingen, since 1983 in Karlsruhe-Durlach |
| Seat | Karlsruhe |
| management | Peter Braun, Dr. Rainer Oschmann ( Managing Director ) |
| Number of employees | 500 (2019) |
| sales | € 100 million (2016) |
| Branch | Pharmaceutical manufacturer |
| Website | www.dhu.de |
The German Homeopathy Union (DHU) , with its full company name Deutsche Homöopathie-Union DHU-Arzneimittel GmbH & Co. KG , based in Karlsruhe , is a manufacturer of homeopathic preparations and a 100% subsidiary of Dr. Willmar Schwabe .
Companies
It was created in 1961 from the merger of the earlier competitors Dr. Madaus & Co. and Dr. Willmar Schwabe GmbH. This company marriage broke up again in 1969; however, the name was retained. Today DHU is part of the Dr. Willmar Schwabe GmbH & Co. KG . The DHU employs around 500 people.
production
The DHU range is divided into two main areas: homeopathy and biochemical therapy according to Wilhelm Schüßler with the Schüßler salts . It comprises 350,000 products that are sold internationally. The field of homeopathy in turn includes the homeopathic single remedies, which are popularly known as "the globules", as well as homeopathic combination preparations, which consist of up to four individual active ingredients.
A total of around 1,200 plant, animal and mineral raw materials are processed. They are available in various potencies , pack sizes and dosage forms ( drops , tablets , globules , ointments ). The most frequently used dosage form is that of the granules, of which around 12.5 billion pieces are produced annually.
The DHU has its own 15.5 hectare medicinal plant cultivation called "Terra Medica", which is located a short distance from the headquarters in Karlsruhe in Staffort . According to the company, Terra Medica is considered to be Europe's most diverse medicinal plant culture with 600 different species and provides around 70% of the material required for production. "Terra Medica" has been certified for organic farming in accordance with the EU regulation since 1998.
Dealing with criticism of homeopathy
In addition to the general criticism of homeopathy , the company is taking action against allegations of the ineffectiveness of its own products. In 2005, for example, the DHU had a book by Stiftung Warentest withdrawn from the market with a preliminary injunction , in which its drug "hay fever remedy DHU" was described as ineffective, although there was evidence of effectiveness for the indications "allergic disease of the upper respiratory tract such as hay fever ( pollinosis ). and allergic rhinitis all year round (perennial allergic rhinitis ) ”. The German Central Association of Homeopathic Doctors had also spoken out against the book.
In 2012 it became known that DHU, too, financed an operator of several websites with Claus Fritzsche , who described himself as a journalist and dedicated himself to defaming critics of pseudo-medical practices. Fritzsche used different servers that were linked to one another, so that the search results u. a. manipulated by Google and thus bring criticism to the fore. A victim of this practice was e.g. B. the British researcher Edzard Ernst .
literature
- Volker Jäger: In the service of health. On the history of Willmar Schwabe . in: Medicine, Society and History 10 (1001), 171–188
- Michael Michalak: The homeopathic medicine. From the beginning to industrial production . Stuttgart 1990
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ figures at dhu.de .
- ^ Ärzteblatt : Stiftung Warentest: "The other medicine" discontinued .
- ^ Homeopathy lobby on the net - Dirty methods of gentle medicine , article in the Süddeutsche from June 30, 2012, accessed on August 8, 2012.
Coordinates: 48 ° 59 ′ 49.6 ″ N , 8 ° 26 ′ 1.1 ″ E