History Of Tetracycline Would Make An Epic Film
When a scientist working for Pfizer Chemical Research Department back in 1949 chemically
altered the molecular architecture of the two broad spectrum antibiotics known as Aereomycin and Terramycin, the result was Tetracycline. This achievement opened the door to the mass production of antibiotics, for it allowed pharmaceutical companies to make their products in the lab instead of digging them up in small amounts from the Earth. Many other spin off antibiotics would later be created using this method. Tetracycline is one of the most important drugs that has ever been invented in the history of medicine and the story behind its creation, production and distribution would make a great Hollywood movie.
In 1948 a seventy three year old emeritus professor of botany from the University of Missouri named Benjamin Duggar discovered the first natural form of the Tetracycline antibiotic in a soil sample at Lederle Laboratories. It was named Aureomycin, and it would be the beginning point for what would later become the first chemically engineered antibiotic known as Tetracycline.
Around the same time that Aereomycin was discovered there was another company called Pfizer that was searching the planet for any new types of antibiotics that they could sell. Pfizer had recently made a name for themselves for being the first company to develop and mass produce the miracle drug penicillin during Word War II.
Back in 1944 the senior management of Pfizer risked everything they had, including stockholders assets to buy the equipment they needed to make large amounts of penicillin. It worked out well for them, and for the soldiers who fought in World War II who had their lives saved by penicillin treatment of their infections.
However, Pfizer did not obtain a patent for penicillin and made the mistake of selling it through other companies instead of under their own company name. The result was an overall moderate financial gain.
By 1945 Pfizer had been around for decades as a company, but they were not as big as they would like to become. Discovering a new type of antibiotic could mean big business for them and they were searching anywhere they thought they could find it. This required a team of scientists, geologists and Indiana Jones type adventure seekers to go out and take samples of earth that might contain the bacteria fighting organisms needed to make an antibiotic.
In the late 1940s Pfizer paid to have 135,000 soil samples collected and conducted 20 million tests for antibiotic organisms using this dirt. These samples were collected from the bottoms of mineshafts, the tops of mountains, desolate deserts and the abyss of the oceans of the World.
After all this searching and testing they literally hit pay dirt in their own back yard when they found a sample in the soil of a factory they owned in Terre Haute, Indiana. In 1949, a scientist employed by Pfizer named R.W. Woodward was able to develop this organism into the antibiotic Terramycin. Pfizer immediately applied for a patent.
One week before the Terramycin patent was to be issued, Pfizer suffered a setback. John Smith, the CEO became deathly ill. On his deathbed he summoned his successor, John McKeen to his side. Just before he died he uttered his last wishes in the form of a warning. He told John Mckeen to be sure Pfizer does not make the same mistake with this new product that they made with penicillin, which was to sell it without a patent through other companies instead of selling it protected under the Pfizer name.
John Mckeen and the Pfizer Board of Directors agreed to honor the dying wishes of John Smith by going into the pharmaceutical business. Terramycin was a major financial success and it put them on the map as a much larger company.
Along with Aureomycin, Terramycin would later become one of the drugs used to create the first form of synthetic Tetracycline, the medicine that opened the gates to the exploration of chemically engineered antibiotics. This led to the discovery of almost every antibiotic that is available on the market today.
In 1952 a scientist name Lloyd Conover working for Pfizer began a lab study using the natural antibiotics Aereomycin and Terramycin. Working closely with R.W. Woodward he was able to synthesize the molecules of these organisms to create Tetracycline. A patent for Tetracycline was issued to Conover and Pfizer in 1955. It was immediately challenged.
A company by the name of American Cyanamid owned the rights to Aereomycin, one of the drugs used in the creation of the Tetracycline medicine that Conover invented. They sued Pfizer for patent infringement, but the two companies settled out of court when they realized that neither one truly owned the rights to Aereomycin. After this ruling was made the two companies agreed to cooperate on selling Tetracycline at a higher than normal price to keep other competitors from joining the growing market for this medicine. A licensing contract was issued to American Cyanamid by Pfizer and the fix was in.
These two companies enjoyed several years of booming Tetracycline sales at inflated prices with no competition. They were highly protective of their newly found cash cow and did whatever they could to protect it.
Soon after the initial success of Tetracycline several other large pharmaceutical companies decided that they wanted a piece this market. Bristol Meyers, Squibb, the Olin Corporation and The Upjohn Company challenged the patent that was issued to Conover and Pfizer for Tetracycline.
Trying to stay one step ahead of their competition, Pfizer hired private detectives to tap the phones of the Bristol Meyers corporate headquarters. Bristol Meyers found out about it and threatened to take legal action against Pfizer. Using this as leverage, Bristol Meyers negotiated a licensing deal with Pfizer that gave them a piece of the Tetracycline market.
Soon after Bristol Meyers made their deal with Pfizer several other large companies wanted in on the action. Eventually, five companies colluded with Pfizer to sell Tetracycline at inflated prices including American Cyanamid, Squibb, the Olin Corporation and The Upjohn Company.
In 1958 the Federal Trade Commission filed a complaint against Pfizer and the other four pharmaceutical companies citing a violation of the Sherman Anti Trust law. This is a law that was established decades earlier during the age of the robber barons like Rockefeller and Carnagie to prevent large companies from holding a monopoly on any product that is sold in the United States.
The Hearing Examiner of the case initially ruled in favor of the five drug companies and dismissed the complaint. However, the Federal Trade Commission reversed this ruling and found that Pfizer an American Cyanamid had committed fraud by submitting false and misleading statements when they obtained the patent for Tetracycline. They also found that all five of the drug companies had engaged in illegal price fixing.
A cease and desist order was issued and the monopoly was broken up. Pfizer was forced to allow licensing of this product to any other companies at a two and a half percent royalty basis. American Cyanamid was ordered to offer the same licensing terms with Aereomycin.
The Federal Trade Commission continued their attack on the Tetracycline patent owned by Lloyd Conover and Pfizer for three more decades until a final ruling was reached in 1982. The decision upheld the patent of the scientist and the pharmaceutical company. This ruling put an end to a long battle over the validity of this patent and permitted any scientists in the future to patent similar inventions of medicine.
The next time someone mentions the antibiotic Tetracycline you just might think of the film Ben Hur, Gone With The Wind or Raiders of The Lost Ark. When it comes to the history of antibiotics you would be hard pressed to find one that is more interesting than this one. It has everything that any epic movie possesses, including adventure, important deathbed statements, controversy, conflict and triumph over adversity. Most importantly, this story has a happy ending for humanity because Tetracycline and all the spin off antibiotics that were invented after it have saved countless lives around the World by killing potentially deadly infections.
by: Michael Connelly
Formula One History The Fascinating History Of Fashion Jewellery How To Make FREE Calls Worldwide from Facebook Human History You've Been Taught is Erroneous--Earliest Humans Here Millions of Years Ago Converting Ebook And Pdf Into Epub For Ipad The story behind plastic guttering New Article - Impotence (Erectile Male Dysfunction) - An End To Your Sexual Life? History Of bomboniere The History and Use of Chinese Seals Best 5 Notebooks for 2010 Grads Cold Sore Freedom In 3 Days Ebook Torrent Launch Of A Hot Air Balloon : A Landmark In The History Of Aerial Adventure Oak Tree As England History