THE MICROBIOTICS — MCDONNELL 457 



process. It is expected that a pure crystalline penicillin salt will 

 eventually be marketed. 



Recent work on penicillin has indicated that there are at least four 

 types of penicillin: penicillin F (British I), penicillin G (or II), 

 allopenicillin (III) or factor X, a more stable, more readily crystal- 

 lizable and perhaps more clinically effective substance, and a factor K, 

 or penicillin K. Wintersteiner isolated pure crystalline penicillin, 

 but the search for its chemical identity and for methods of syntheses 

 was shrouded in wartime secrecy. 



PRODUCTION 



The dramatic story of the battle for production of penicillin also 

 had to await the end of the war for the telling. Only 400 million units 

 of penicillin had been produced experimentally prior to June of 1943, 

 and little more than 20 billion units during the balance of the year. 

 Twelve months later, 20 tremendous plants located from coast to 

 coast were pouring out increasing quantities of the drug. They 

 represent an investment of almost 30 million dollars in critical equip- 

 ment and materials. During the month of October 1944 over 200 

 billion units were produced — in 1 month well over 10 times the total 

 production of all of last year, yet the total product weighed not much 

 more than 10 avoirdupois pounds. (By March 1946 the monthly pro- 

 duction reached 2,000 billion units. — Author's note.) 



RELEASE 



At first most of the material available was supplied directly to the 

 armed services, with only limited amounts of penicillin released for 

 domestic civilian use and small quantities for urgent foreign needs. 

 During the months prior to April of 1944 small quantities of peni- 

 cillin had been allocated by the War Production Board to the Office 

 of Scientific Research and Development for a program of clinical 

 research under the direction of Dr. Chester Keefer of Boston, and the 

 treatment of urgent cases. 



On May 1, 1944, the War Production Board had available a small 

 surplus of penicillin over and above militar}' and research require- 

 ments, and under the direction of the Drugs and Cosmetics Branch and 

 the Penicillin Producers' Industry Advisory Committee, a program 

 of allocation for civilian hospitals was inaugurated. The Office of 

 Civilian Penicillin Distribution of the War Production Board was 

 organized by the writer as Director, and was located in Chicago. A 

 limited supply of penicillin was released for use in accordance with 

 the recommendations formulated on the basis of the clinical experi- 

 ence by OSRD and NRC workers. The method was to distribute to 



