COMMITTEE ON MEDICAL RESEARCH IO5 



PURCHASE OF PENICILLIN, for study 

 in all types of infections 1,885,002.60 



NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCE 

 CONTRACT 1,120,206.14 



$24,689,899.42 



''Encouragement'' of Research in Field of Penicillin. In the summer of 

 1 94 1, Dr. Howard Florey of Oxford University came to the United States 

 in an attempt to arrange for the large-scale production of penicillin. In his 

 own laboratory Dr. Florey had produced enough of the drug to provide 

 convincing evidence of its effectiveness against a wide variety of infections 

 in small animals but the difficulties which attended its production were 

 so great that nearly two years of work had yielded an amount sufficient 

 to treat only five patients. 



After visiting the Northern Regional Research Laboratory of the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture at Peoria, Illinois, and the laboratories of several com- 

 mercial firms, Dr. Florey came to Washington in August to see the Chair- 

 man of CMR. The problem was one of supply. It could not, at that time, 

 be solved in England. It might have been dismissed by CMR on the basis 

 that the Committee's concern was with research rather than production. 

 Fortunately, Richards appreciated the potential importance of the drug and 

 the vigor and imagination with which he promoted its production were 

 regarded as entitling him to the greatest credit in making penicillin avail- 

 able for use during the war. He arranged meetings in October and De- 

 cember, 194 1, which were attended by representatives of the Division of 

 Chemistry, NRC, the Department of Agriculture and the pharmaceutical 

 firms of Merck & Company, Chas. Pfizer & Company, E. R. Squibb & Sons, 

 and the Lederle Laboratories. The firms were encouraged to undertake 

 the problem of penicillin production in co-operation with each other and 

 with the Peoria Laboratory. 



The firms agreed to prosecute the research. They agreed that the find- 

 ings of any one group could be conveyed to the others through the me- 

 dium of CMR. The Peoria Laboratory agreed to report its findings to all 

 the other groups and to have members of its staff make periodic visits to 

 their laboratories and give such advice and assistance as seemed indicated. 

 During this early part of the program, the Committee's sole financial in- 

 vestment was to make some funds available to the Peoria Laboratory. Its 

 moral investment was to encourage and maintain the initial interest of the 

 commercial firms, to co-ordinate the results of their research, and to ar- 

 range with the War Production Board so that the firms might receive pri- 

 orities for the equipment of their laboratories and pilot plants. 



The difficulties proved nearly insuperable; but they were gradually 

 overcome. As penicillin became available, CMR assumed the responsibility 



