Heinrich Reckeweg
Dr. Reckeweg
Heinrich Reckeweg is the founder of the Reckeweg firm (1877-1944). In 1903, he began teaching at a Herford elementary school after completing his teacher training. Teaching at a public school, severe illness, World War I, and his premature retirement marked the years that followed.
He was so critically ill in 1912 that doctors only certified him “garrison-fit” when World War I broke out. In 1919, he suffered from chronic renal inflammation, and in November 1924, the effects of TB and a throat condition forced him to retire early. So it’s not surprising that Heinrich Reckeweg, who suffered from a terrible sickness in the early 1920s and saw the failure of orthodox medicine firsthand, turned to natural therapy more and more.
Heinrich Reckeweg, who had always been interested in plant medicine and other natural healing procedures and was familiar with the teachings of Hahnemann and Prießnitz, had become what is now known as an alternative practitioner by teaching himself. During his time as a teacher, he felt obligated to treat many of his students who were sick, for example, with a cough or a cold. For this aim, he even developed a cough syrup.
He named his anti-whooping cough medicine “Jutussin Stickhustenhilfe” – and “Jutussin R8,” which is sold all over the world, is still well regarded. He was particularly interested in Pastor Felke and his methods, in addition to Hahnemann and Prießnitz.
The product line of Dr. Reckeweg & Co GmbH, which was created in 1947, began with a mental association with Felke. Felke had noticed that the same traditional homeopathic remedies were used to treat the same ailments and medical situations over and over again. He had conducted tests to mix those medicines separately for each patient, concluding that the same combinations of homeopathic remedies consistently had positive results for particular illness patterns. This was the time when the homeopathic combination medications, referred to as complexes at the time, were created.
The EuPha Laboratory is a research facility dedicated to the study of the human
Heinrich Reckeweg, in pursuit of his vision of natural medicine, registered his doctor’s office with the public health institution and on a commercial basis in May 1926, after he began developing, manufacturing, and selling homoeopathic combination remedies in his EuPha Laboratory in the early 1920s. His ambition was to create effective and well-tolerated medicines, a heritage that continues today at Dr. Reckeweg & Co. GmbH, Bensheim.
Heinrich Reckeweg’s outstanding curing achievements earned him acclaim far beyond his hometown. Despite the fact that he was never given an official title, everyone referred to him as “Doctor” Reckeweg. Heinrich Reckeweg died in 1944, and the EuPha Laboratory came to an end.
After the war, the corporation was re-established.
In May 1947, two of his sons, Klaus Günther Reckeweg and the homeopathic physician Dr. med. Alfred Reckeweg, re-founded the company Dr. A. Reckeweg & Co. GmbH in Herford, reclaiming their father’s expertise and experience. Over the first years, they constructed a series of sixty homoeopathic complicated remedies, following their father’s heritage.
All medicine compositions were based on experience passed down from father to sons, excellent medical homeopathic knowledge from Dr. Alfred Reckeweg, and an alert interest in natural healing processes from both firm founders. The specialty series preparations were created to provide a homeopathic alternative for the treatment of as many illnesses as feasible that occur in everyday practice. They included anti-inflammatories, cardiovascular-disease treatments, digestive-disease treatments, and rheumatic-spectrum-disease treatments, to mention a few. Only eight years later, the Pharmazeutische Fabrik Dr. Reckeweg & Co. GmbH’s expanding success prompted Klaus Günther Reckeweg to begin seeking for additional premises, which he located in Bensheim. Pharmazeutische Fabrik Dr. Reckeweg & Co. GmbH entered a new era with the shift to its current premises. The technical department was totally updated, in addition to having greater room.
Internationalization
In many ways, the 1970s and 1980s heralded a new era. The turning point for a redirection of the family business to a pharmaceutical firm was accomplished when Michael Reckeweg joined the company in 1976 and the company relocated into a new building with more than 2,000 sqm in 1981, necessitating the hiring of more people. From that point forward, the main focus was on expanding international markets.
Dr. Reckeweg created business relationships with importers in European and non-European nations, allowing the company to expand internationally. Dr. Reckeweg now has extensive contacts with importers in over 40 countries around Europe and the world. The strong acceptance and admiration of Dr. Reckeweg’s homeopathic treatments is evidenced by the export share of more than 90%. With the regional and global expansion of the business came an internal portfolio expansion. The line of specialties was expanded to 75 and later to 95 remedies, offering some of the specialties in different forms such as dilutions, injectables, globules, tablets, ointments, and syrups.
In addition to those specialties, the company produced and sold mother tinctures, single remedies in high and highest potencies, salts of Dr. Schüßler’s biochemical healing approach, and homeopathic preparations for veterinary medicine, as well as various food supplements, in the 1980s and 1990s.
All of this occurred throughout the company’s generational transition from its founders to current Managing Director Michael Reckeweg. Simultaneously, tasks were reorganized in accordance with legal requirements for a pharmaceutical company, one of which was the necessity to manufacture according to GMP worldwide criteria (Good Manufacturing Practice).
As one of the co-founders, the company has been an active member of ECHAMP since 1999. (abbrev. European Coalition on Homeopathic and Anthroposophic Medicinal Products). Membership in the ‘Bundesverband der Pharmazeutischen Industrie (BPI, federal association of the pharmaceutical industry)’ and the ‘Bundesverband der Arzneimittelhersteller (BAH, federal association of drug manufacturers)’ is noteworthy as well. In both cases, the firm participates actively in many committees and panels that promote the interests of homeopathy.
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