La pénicilline, agent de propagande

Gilbert Shama Loughborough University United Kingdom

CEMI 16 Colloque sur le Contrôle Epidémiologique des Maladies Infectieuses Institut Pasteur le 13 mai 2011

An account of an accident at St Mary’s Hospital, London…… The re-discovery of penicillin….

The Lancet, August 1940

Everything you needed to know about producing penicillin but were afraid to ask…..

The Lancet, August 1941 Misinformation....?

Formula for strontium salt of Penicillin published in Nature, 1942

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Penicillin in time of war….. 1940 •Dunkirk

• Start of the ‘Blitz’

1941 • Stalemate in the W. Desert

1942

•Fall of Singapore Penicillin in the media

First Article in The Times 27th August, 1942

Letters to

“….a laurel wreath for Professor Alexander Fleming for the discovery of penicillin”

st SirAlmroth Almost Wright Right 31 August, 1942 Professor of Bacteriology, St Mary’s Hospital, London

“… a bouquet at least, and a handsome one, to Professor H W Florey for the discovery of therapeutic penicillin”

Robert Robinson, nd Waynflete Professor 2 September, 1942 of Chemistry, University of Oxford Number of Citations in The Times

English Language Broadcasts

‘Ariel in Wartime’ – 4th September, 1942

‘Marching On’ – 15th October, 1942

‘Penicillin’ – 2nd September, 1943

‘Producing the Drug Penicillin’ – 22nd October, 1943

‘Penicillin’ – 20th December. 1943

‘Science Notebook’ – 10th April, 1944 Unwanted Publicity….

“….a flood of pathetic letters from Western Australia to Saskatchewan……”

Letter HW Florey to the BBC, October 1942 Ici Londres…. - French Language Broadcasts

‘Medical News 10’ – 21st July, 1943

‘Medical News 17’ – 29th September, 1943

‘Une Grande Decouverte de la Science Anglaise’ –17th February, 1944 To Japan Transmission of P. notatum cultures – Pre 1940

Julius Hirsch André Lwoff Berlin & Institut Pasteur Istanbul

Siegbert Bornstein Dr Hans Schmidt Beth Israel Hospital IG Farben New York Marburg Werke

Johanna Westerdijk WCS, Georges Dreyer Baarn, Holland Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, Oxford Harold Raistrick Roger Reid London School of Penn State Hygiene and Tropical University Medicine

Distribution of P. notatum NCTC 4222 after the outbreak of war.

Division of Industrial Chemistry Guinness Brewery, Dublin, Eire. Council for Scientific & Industrial Research, East Melbourne, Dept. of Pathology, Univ. Coll. Dublin, Eire. Australia. Ministry of Agriculture, Belfast, N. Ireland. Indian Inst. of Science. Bangalore, India Laboratorio Fidelis, Lisbon, Portugal The British Council Alexr. Lipworth Pty. Co., Johannesburg, S. Africa. S.A. Brewing Co. Ltd., Adelaide, S. Australia. Bakubhai Ambalal & Co., Bombay, India. N.Z. Government, Strand W.C. South African Inst. For Medical Research, Johannesburg. School of Pathology, T.C.D., Eire. Clinsearch Laboratories, Johannesburg, S. Aktiebololaget Marvello Africa. Stockholm, Sweden.

Imperial Mycologist, New Delhi, India. Information Wars in France

Jean Gérard Frédéric Joliot-Curie Secretary General Centre National de la Maison de la Chimie Recherche Scientifique

Access to the best Jean Wyart microfilming Crossed between facilities, paper Occupied and and printing Unoccupied Zones presses

Primarily French- Access to Anglo- German exchanges American Material of scientific literature Bulletin Analytique

Information Cascade in the French Pharmaceutical Industry

Applications to WCS, Baarn for cultures of P. notatum

Laboratoires du Dr Roussel – 7th July, 1943

Etablissements Byla – 23rd September, 1943

Maison L Frere – 3rd February, 1944 Publish and be damned…?

Nitti, F. (1944). Un nouveau traitement des infections microbiennes par un produit élaboré par les moisissures: la pénicilline. Le Progrès Médical. No. 1, 10th January, 10-12.

Martin, R., Sureau, B., and Vittoz, A. (1944) Un cas de méningite a pneumocoques sulfamido-résistants traitée par la pénicilline. Bulletins et Mémoires de la Société Médicale des Hôpitaux de Paris, Nos. 11 & 12, 17 March, 117-120.

Martin, R., and Sureau, B. (1944). La pénicilline et ses applications thérapeutiques. Paris Médical. 10th June, 115- 119.

‘Wervelwind’ Leaflet Dropped over N. Holland by the RAF 24/25th April, 1944 Me too…… Vorsprung durch (englische) technik

Advertisement – The Observer 16th April, 1944 Homemade Penicillin? Chemical Synthesis of Penicillin

39 Laboratories •Commercial Organizations •Universities •Government Agencies •Private Foundations

Expenditure by pharmaceutical and chemical companies alone ~ $3 million

Second in scale only to the Manhattan project FIN