In one of Marvel's most famous future timelines, Spider-Man 2099 is a byproduct of his former employer's tampering with genetic experimentation. The megacorporation, Alchemax, had its hand in several different experiments, and Miguel O'Hara was caught up in one that gifted him his spider-like abilities and also made him Alchemax's greatest enemy. It seems like the classic set up, the lone, street-level hero going up against the darkest kind of corporation imaginable,
But Alchemax shares a surprising connection to the legacy of Spider-Man, one most people don't even realize. It did not always go by the name Alchemax, when it was first founded it was called Allan Chemical, owned and run by Liz Allan, one of Peter Parker's oldest friends from high school.
Elizabeth "Liz" Allan made her debut in Amazing Fantasy #15 by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko as one of Peter Parker's classmates during high school. For a brief time, Peter had a crush on her, but Liz was Flash Thompson's girlfriend and generally thought the same thing her boyfriend did about Peter: That he was a loser. Peter eventually moved on from those feelings, but funnily enough, Liz developed her own crush on Peter at the same time, having seen his more heroic side in secret. She would eventually accept that he did not reciprocate those feelings and later fall in love with Harry Osborn. The two would marry and have a son, Normie Osborn.
More pressingly, Liz first began working as an executive alongside her husband at Oscorp, but following Harry's mental collapse into the Green Goblin, Liz left him and took her son to keep him safe. Liz then began working in the scientific development industry on her own, forming Allan Chemical. She found massive success as its CEO and took things a step further, buying up what remained of Oscorp's and Horizon Labs' stocks to merge both companies into a single one: Alchemax.
Liz couldn't have known the company she poured her blood, sweat, and tears into would eventually become a villainous megacorporation nearly a century from now.
When first introduced in Spider-Man 2099 #1 by Peter David and Rick Leonardi, it was far more malevolent, having a hand in nearly every form of consumer demand, society, and even government. It worked in illegal and highly dangerous experiments as well as having its own privatized police force called the Public Eye. This all occurs on Earth-928, the one on Earth-616 is still in its infancy. But so far Liz Allan has been doing her best to steer it in the right direction.
Still, the name was destined to draw in the less desirable traits of its future counterpart. Already Alchemax has several executives who are willing to use less savory means to stay ahead in the business world. Men such as Mark Raxton or Tiberius Stone. They have already gone behind Liz's back and hired known criminals like the Ghost to sabotage their competitors, ironically enough that was Peter Parker at the time.
Despite Liz's best intentions and capable leadership, it seems that Alchemax will most likely become the original concept introduced to fans all those years ago. But, even if it does, there is still a lot of good that came from Alchemax's existence. After all, it created a brand new Spider-Man to help watch over the people and stand up for them when the authorities of their world (Alchemax) would abuse them in favor of maintaining control. So it's less of a horrible outcome and more of a mixed bag.