New Jersey has been the location of many pharmaceutical companies. A popular state nickname has been “Nation’s/World’s Medicine Chest,” or “Medicine Chest of the Nation/World.” The nickname has been popular since the 1950s, even though California—a much larger state—has more pharmaceutical companies.
   
“Medicine Chest of the Nation” was printed in the book Made in New Jersey; The Industrial Story of a State (1954) by John T. Cunningham. “Medicine chest of the world” was cited in print in 1957.
   
     
Wikipedia: Medicine chest
Medicine chest or medicine cabinet is a colloquial phrase and idiom used to describe an area with the highest concentration of medicine stockpile, production, or potential of sources for medicines. The phrase is used with the area to specify the scope, such as world’s medicine chest or nation’s medicine cabinet.
(...)
New Jersey
As the pharmaceutical industry in the United States expanded in the 21st century, New Jersey has become the state with more pharmaceutical companies than any other U.S. state, and known to be the world’s medicine chest. In 2006, three of top ten pharmaceutical companies in the world were headquartered in New Jersey.
 
In 2011, New Jersey was home to world or North American headquarters for 17 of the 20 largest pharmaceutical companies in the world.
 
BioNJ
The Medicine Chest of the World
New Jersey is, by any measure, the center of the world’s pharmaceutical industry.
 
The state is home to more than 300 biotechnology companies and 20 pharmaceutical and medical technology firms; 17 out of the world’s top 20 have major facilities in the state. This incredible concentration offers extraordinary opportunities for joint ventures, recruiting and research.
   
Google Books
Made in New Jersey;
The Industrial Story of a State
By John T. Cunningham
New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press
1954
Pg. 215:
Detailing every vital pharmaceutical discovery in the New Jersey “Medicine Chest of the Nation” would require a book, or rather, several books.
       
11 June 1957, Courier-Post (Camden, NJ),  “Pharmacist Job Is Vital, Rewarding,” pg. 10, col. 5:
“This is especially true in New Jersey which is the medicine chest of the world and where industry is constantly expanding its need for trained personnel.”
(Dr. Roy A. Bowers, dean of the Rutgers University College of Pharmacy at Newark.—ed.)
 
Google Books
N.A.R.D. Journal: The Official Organ of the National Association of Retail Druggists
Volume 80
1958
Pg. 41:
Open house theme “New Jersey — Medicine Chest of the Nation” —was illustrated by presentation to adult visitors of products made by 18 New Jersey manufacturers.
 
30 November 1960, Trenton (NJ) Evening Times, pg. 47, col. 1 photo caption:
Governor Meyner declared “it is no wonder New Jersey is often called ‘The Medicine Chest’ of the nation.”
     
Google Books
Quarterly bulletin
Volumes 27-28
1963
Pg. 18:
We are often called “The Medicine Chest of the Nation” because we lead the nation in pharmaceutical research and production.
 
Google Books
FDA Papers
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Volume 4
1970
Pg. 13:
New Jersey, besides being known as the “Garden State” because of its agricultural output, is sometimes called “The Nation’s Medicine Chest” because of its high pharmaceutical production.
 
OCLC WorldCat record
New Jersey : the Nation’s medicine chest
Author: John L Colaizzi
Publisher: [Nutley, NJ] : [Hoffmann-La Roche], ©1985.
Series: Public issue report
Edition/Format:   Print book : English
 
Google Books
Entrepreneurial Science:
New Links Between Corporations, Universities, and Government
By Robert F. Johnston and Christopher G. Edwards
Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, Inc.
1987
Pg. 57:
New Jersey, sometimes referred to as the medicine chest of the nation, is the home of many major U.S. pharmaceutical and chemical companies.
   
25 June 1990, The Sun (Baltimore, MD), “Marketing Science: Councils work to bring two cultures together” by Ellen L. James, pg. E4, col. 4:
“New Jersey is the medicine chest of the world,” he says.
(Hans Mueller, chief executive officer of Baltimore-based Nova Pharmaceutical.—ed.)
   
Google Books
The Doctors’ Dictionary, 2nd edition:
A medical dictionary written by a doctor for doctors
By Joseph C Segen
BookBaby
2011
Pg. ?:
medicine chest of America A sobriquet for New Jersey, which once had the highest concentration of pharmaceutical companies in the US. In 2004, California became the state with the largest number of pharmaceutical jobs.
 
OCLC WorldCat record
New Jersey as the Medicine Chest of the World: A Status Report from Dean J. Paranicas.
Author: CE Williams Affiliation: Senior Vice President, Business Development and Corporate Secretary at MDAdvantage Insurance Company.
Edition/Format: Article Article : English
Publication: MD advisor : a journal for New Jersey medical community, 2015 Winter; 8(1): 30-3
Database: From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.