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    His Story (or History) of Drug Discovery
    By Anirudha Lakshm... | October 14th 2010 06:01 AM | 9 comments | Print | E-mail | Track Comments
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    About Anirudha

    Hello, I am a PhD graduate from molecular genetics laboratory, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay. I am presently working for a Biotech...

    View Anirudha's Profile
    This is a story of Drugs, its HisStory.

    Drug discovery is a result of humans seeking a solution for life threatening diseases that existed in the 19th century. Drug Discovery started as an offset of chemistry and has now become an interdisciplinary science.

    Paul Ehrlich is regarded as the father of Chemotherapy. He was the first to identify that some dye's selectively stained bacteria but not human cells, and visualized the concept of treatment for bacterial diseases by chemical agents. He coined the term "Magic bullet" for these specific chemical agents. Ehrlich extensively worked on the dye, Methylene Blue, but it did not succeed clinically. However, his quest continued and he studied a number of arsenic containing compounds.

    This resulted in the discovery of Compound '606' or Salvarsan which was used for the treatment of Syphilis. This was used in the treatment of Syphilis till the early 20th century after which Penicillin replaced Salvarsan. 

    He received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1908.

    Comments

    Aitch
    Did I get deleted?  I posted a comment

    see also

    http://www.science20.com/humboldt_fellow_and_science/ethnobotany_role_re...

    Aitch
    Henry Cox | 10/14/10 | 11:05 AM
    Hank
    We have no way to know.   We are arguably among the least intrusive sites out there for anything except spam, which we delete or goes into moderation.  If authors kill all their comments or all their articles, for that matter, nothing we can do.
    —
    Want more no-nonsense, independent science? Buy Science Left Behind
    Hank Campbell | 10/14/10 | 13:14 PM
    Aitch
    My question was addressed to Anirudha, Hank...as it may not have posted...it wouldn't be the first time it's happened [I was emailing him at the time]
    I'm now familiar with both your site policy and efforts, thanks
    I think it is one of the best sites, in that respect, btw, much appreciated!

    Aitch
    Henry Cox | 10/14/10 | 15:27 PM
    galactokinase
    Thats really strange, I did not delete any comment.  
    Anirudha Lakshm... | 10/14/10 | 20:59 PM
    Aitch
    Thank You
    I'll attempt to repost from memory:-
    "Not wishing to take anything away from the excellent work done by Paul Ehrlich, it must have helped having bacteriologist Karl Weigert in the family.
    Shouldn't there also be a HerStory, as from my knowledge women were traditionally the potion makers, herbalists, and healers, with knowledge of plants and minerals, and health cures and treatments handed down for at least several hundred years, many of which have been absorbed into pharmaceutical company recipes, and marketed as patented inventions, and one of the main reasons for the continued witch-hunt against natural therapies to this day, in my opinion"

    Aitch
    Henry Cox | 10/19/10 | 10:02 AM
    rholley
    This brings back memories.  But first, a wee question:
    There was hue and cry over his discovery as the treatment was against STDs.

    What is the source of this information?  It sounds like something that a British TV channel would make up.

    Now, the memories.  In the early 1970s, I was unemployed for six months, and during that period read my Chemistry of Organic Compounds by Carl R Noller (2nd edition) from cover to cover, probably more than once.  It filled my mind with all sorts of chemical rabbits that I have pulled out of the hat during my subsequent career.

    One of things I remember reading about was Salvarsan.  The section contains (present tense – I’ve still got the book!) the following information:
    For a short time around 1940 it was replaced by its oxidation product, m-amino p-hydroxy phenylarsenoxide (Mapharsen).  Erlich had considered the use of the arsenoxide but rejected it because of its high toxicity.  He overlooked, however, the high therapeutic index, the ratio of the maximum tolerated dose to the minimum effective dose.  Since the advent of penicillin in 1941, the use of arsenicals for treatment of syphilis has been discontinued.
    There is an interesting coda to this story.  It was long thought that Arsphenamine (to give it its official name) contained an arsenic-arsenic double bond, as in A, but mass spectrometric studies in 2005 suggest it is a mixture of the trimer B and pentamer C in which the arsenic is singly bonded. 
    —
    Robert H. Olley Quondam Physics Department University of Reading England
    Robert H Olley | 10/15/10 | 11:25 AM
    galactokinase
    what is the source of this information?  It sounds like something that a British TV channel would make up.

    You are right that this statement is not from a reliable source.  I Apologize for that. I am removing this statement. 
    Anirudha Lakshm... | 10/16/10 | 05:38 AM
    rholley
    Many thanks.  Generally, though, this is a most excellent and interesting article.

    It has prompted me to look up Erlich’s biography.  He comes across as a very creative thinker in science.  Here is a picture of him with Hata Sahachirō, who worked with him on the discovery of Salvarsan.

    One other thing I learned was that his daughter Marianne was married to the great mathematician Edmund Landau.  That one was the ultimate in pure mathematicians, despising all applied mathematics as “Schmieröl” (= lubricating grease).
    —
    Robert H. Olley Quondam Physics Department University of Reading England
    Robert H Olley | 10/16/10 | 06:15 AM
    galactokinase
    Thanks for the interesting information about the structure of Arsphenamine and about the mathematical connection. 
    Anirudha Lakshm... | 10/17/10 | 03:47 AM