Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
Nov.,  19 18. 
Biological  Products. 
759 
ness  standpoint  of  making  the  drug  store  a  biological  station.  Those 
who  have  tried  the  idea  and  have  endeavored  to  build  up  a  business 
on  biological  products  are  very  well  pleased  with  the  results  and  it 
is  difficult  to  see  why  there  should  not  be  a  greater  interest  on  the 
part  of  the  rank  and  file  to  make  the  profit  on  biological  products 
replace  that  which  has  been  lost  on  some  other  commodities  formerly 
handled  to  advantage  by  the  retail  druggist. 
Business  on  biological  products  is  a  year-round  business,  but  in 
order  to  make  it  so  it  must  be  given  a  certain  amount  of  thought 
and  there  must  be  cooperation  with  physicians  as  well  as  some 
general  advertising.  A  large  part  of  the  service  connected  with 
the  supply  of  biological  products  is  the  ability  to  give  information 
as  to  their  character,  method  of  production,  storing  and  supply.  The 
investment  necessary  is  sufficient  space  for  a  good  refrigerator,  a 
fair  stock  of  the  products  most  frequently  called  for,  and  a  con- 
servative stock  of  those  needed  in  special  cases,  as  well  as  a  little 
time  each  day  on  the  part  of  the  employer  or  one  of  the  employees 
who  makes  it  his  business  to  keep  abreast  of  the  times  as  far  as 
biological  medication  is  concerned.  The  last-named  investment  is 
very  important. 
The  sciences  of  bacteriology  and  immunology  are  making  such 
rapid  strides  that  few  physicians  are  able  to  keep  abreast  of  the 
most  recent  advances.  They  have  learned  to  turn  to  the  pharmacist 
for  information  on  various  drug  products.  Why  should  they  not 
also  turn  to  him  for  information  on  biologicals?  Many  drug  store 
proprietors  who  are  unable  to  give  this  department  of  the  business 
the  attention  it  demands  designate  one  of  their  clerks  to  make  a 
study  of  the  subject  and  thus  have  someone  ready  to  supply  the 
information  when  it  is  asked  for.  Colleges  of  pharmacy  are  now 
giving  special  courses  in  bacteriology  which  fit  their  graduates  to 
keep  in  step  with  the  rapid  progress  being  made  in  this  science.  A 
great  deal  of  literature  from  various  manufacturing  houses  is  avail- 
able on  the  newer  products  and  this  can  be  used  to  advantage  by  the 
pharmacist  in  connection  with  letters  sent  to  physicians  periodically, 
advertising  the  biological  department  of  the  store. 
When  most  of  us  speak  of  biological  products  we  immediately 
think  of  smallpox  vaccine  and  diphtheria  and  tetanus  antitoxins,  and 
our  study  of  the  subject  is  limited  to  these  products  probably  because 
they  are  the  only  ones  recognized  in  the  Pharmacopoeia  and  are  the 
ones  mostly  discussed  in  text-books.    We  all  know  something  about 
