[A short history of anti-rheumatic therapy. I. An introduction on traditional and drug treatments]. / Piccola storia della terapia antireumatica. I. Una premessa sulle terapie tradizionali e farmacologiche.

The origins of anti-rheumatic therapy are very old and mainly related to the use of traditional, sometimes extravagant, treatments, as a part of folk medicine. Spa therapy has long been used for the treatment of rheumatic diseases, as well as, in later times, physical treatments, including electrotherapy. Drug treatment has developed beginning from substances of vegetable origin, such as willow and colchicum extracts. Then it has been spread out through the chemical synthesis of compounds with specific action and therefore more effective, owing to the great development of pharmaceutical industry.

[The "homeopathic specific:" commercial legitimization of homeopathy in Barcelona (1902-1910)]. / El "específico homeopático": legitimación comercial de la homeopatía en Barcelona (1902-1910).

The change in position of homeopathic remedies in the health market produced by the emerging pharmacological paradigm was key to the popularization of homeopathy in Spain. The introduction of specifics and their marketing strategies led to a rise in popular legitimization of homeopathy, and the battles between different professionals created fertile ground for explaining and promoting this doctrine. This article analyzes a contextualized case in Barcelona in the early twentieth century, and explores from different perspectives the new role of pharmacists and medications in spreading homeopathy, centering on strategies for popularizing homeopathic remedies in Spain.

El cambio en la posición que ocupaban los remedios homeopáticos en el mercado de la salud, derivado del emergente paradigma farmacológico, fue clave en la popularización de la homeopatía en España. La introducción de los específicos y sus técnicas de publicidad originó un aumento en la legitimación popular de la homeopatía y encontró en las pugnas entre diferentes profesionales un terreno abonado para la divulgación y la promoción de esta doctrina. El artículo analiza un caso de estudio contextualizado en Barcelona a principios del siglo XX, aproximándose desde diferentes perspectivas al nuevo rol del farmacéutico y el medicamento como divulgadores de la homeopatía y centrándose en las estrategias de la popularización de los remedios homeopáticos en España.

[The company Willmar Schwabe in the Nazi era]. / Die Firma Willmar Schwabe in der NS-Zeit.

This essay follows the history of the Schwabe Company between 1933 and 1945 when it, like all other companies at the time, had to subject to the state-enforced conformity ('Gleichschaltung'). While Willmar Schwabe II (1878-1935), the company's second director, kept clear of Nazi politics, both of his sons, who succeeded him at an early age, became members of the Nazi party: Willmar III (1907-1983) probably from initial conviction and Wolfgang (1912-2000), who joined in 1937, more likely for opportunistic reasons. The two lay journals published by Schwabe--the Leipziger Populäre Zeitschrift für Homöopathie and the Biochemische Monatsblätter--embraced the Nazi ideology more thoroughly than the general homeopathic journal Allgemeine Homöopathische Zeitung, including above all contributions on racial hygiene. Our research has revealed that Schwabe only employed foreign workers from 1942 on, that their number was much lower, at 0.9 per cent in 1942 and 3.6 per cent in 1944, than that of other pharmaceutical companies and that their pay hardly differed from that of German workers. The sales and profit figures investigated have shown that the company did not profit exceptionally from the new Nazi health policies ('Neue Deutsche Heilkunde'): while its sales and profits rose in the Nazi era due to the increased use of medication among the civil population during wartime, the drugs produced by Schwabe remained marginal also during the war, as is apparent also from its modest deliveries to the army. All in all one can conclude that the company offered neither resistance nor particular support to the Nazi ideology.

Inventions leading to the development of the diagnostic test kit industry--from the modern pregnancy test to the sandwich assays.

The universities are encouraged by the government nowadays to stimulate innovations and also to provide the proper machinery for assisting the protection and commercialisation of innovations. A better understanding of the innovation process may help to create an atmosphere suitable for inventions at the university. Examples can be taken from successful innovations previously made at the university. During the 1960's I made a series of inventions, which ultimately led to the development of the diagnostic test kit industry. The first, which I made as an undergraduate, was a simple and reliable test kit for diagnosis of pregnancy. This was followed by the solid phase radioimmunoassay and a solid phase assay for vitamin B12; next, the dual specific non-competitive sandwich assay and the in-vitro test for diagnosis of allergy, called RAST (Radioallergosorbent test). Organon in Holland with the pregnancy test kit, and Pharmacia in Sweden with test kits for radioimmunoassay, became pioneers among the diagnostic test kit industries. Pharmacia Diagnostics later became one of the leading diagnostic test kit companies in the world and has continued to be so in the field of allergy diagnosis. Each one of these inventions started with a few unique observations leading to a technical development. The pregnancy test as well as the allergy test emerged from the development of assay methods with unique qualities with the subsequent search for appropriate applications. The foreseeing of a commercial value on a future market was a very important step. This was followed by the search for a suitable industry interested to exploit the invention with its new business opportunity i.e. apply for a patent, produce and market the products, which in my case consisted of the necessary reagents and equipments for particular diagnostic tests. Finally, an agreement had to be settled between the entrepreneur and the inventors. This report describes these inventions and particularly discusses some crucial steps of the innovation processes.

[Advertising and Zeitgeist. The advertising of Schwabe Pharmaceuticals]. / Werbung und Zeitgeist. Die Inserate der Firma Dr. Willmar Schwabe.

This contribution explores the advertisements for homeopathic products in magazines in the first half of the twentieth century, focusing on the period between 1933 and 1945 and based on the example of the pharmaceutical company Dr Willmar Schwabe. In the first half of the twentieth century, Schwabe Pharmaceuticals was market leader for homeopathic and other complementary medical products (phytotherapy, biochemicals). The example chosen as well as the time frame complement the existing research. We searched three German publications (the homeopathy journal Leipziger Populäre Zeitschrift für Homöopathie, the medical weekly Münchner Medizinische Wochenschrift and the pharma magazine Pharmazeutische Zeitung) and collected target-group-specific results for laypersons, physicians and pharmacists. Analysis of the images and texts in the selected advertisements often reflected the historical background and the respective health policies (wartime requirements, times of need, "Neue Deutsche Heilkunde"). The history of this traditional company was seen as an important point in advertising, as were the recognisability of the brand through the company logo, the emphasis on the high quality of their products and the reference to the company's own research activities. We furthermore found the kind of argumentation that is typical of natural medicine (naturalness, the power of the sun, prominent representatives). Schwabe met the expectations of its clients, who were interested in complementary medicine, whilst pursuing an approach to homeopathy that was compatible with natural science, and it presented itself as a modern, scientifically oriented enterprise. The company did not lose credibility as a result, but increased its clientele by expanding to include the whole naturopathic market.

[Marius Tausk (1902-1990), influential endocrinologist and producer of medicines; a retrospect to mark the centenary of his birth]. / Marius Tausk (1902-1990), invloedrijk endocrinoloog en producent van geneesmiddelen; terugblik bij zijn honderdste geboortedag.

Marius Tausk, born in Sarajevo, studied medicine at Graz in Austria. In 1926, he attended a socialist youth rally in Amsterdam. Whilst there, he met Prof. Ernst Laqueur, a pharmacologist in Amsterdam, who offered him a position at Organon, a newly-founded pharmaceutical company in Oss, the Netherlands. He remained in the Netherlands and became the driving force behind this innovative company. Tausk made many contributions to new developments across the field of endocrinology, including the discovery of the adrenal steroids (together with T. Reichstein, Nobel Prize Laureate in 1950), and the development of oral contraceptive pills. He was astute enough to quickly patent the first corticosteroids. He could quickly extract the essential elements from an information source and disseminate this in five languages. His sharp judgment brought him friends and admirers, yet also those who feared him. In 1937 he was appointed as a private lecturer at the Medical Faculty of Utrecht University and in 1956 he was made Special Professor of Theoretical Endocrinology. He was awarded a number of scientific distinctions including two honorary doctorates. In 1949 he was honoured with the Knighthood of the Order of The Netherlands Lion.

[Laqueur and Organon. The university laboratory and the pharmaceutical industry in the Netherlands]. / Laqueur en Organon. Het universitaire laboratorium en de farmaceutische industrie in Nederland.

Since the 1970s cooperation between universities and pharmaceutical firms is business as usual. This has not always been the case. The first alliances between academic scientists and the pharmaceutical industry can be traced back to the 1920s. Compared to the U.S. and most other European countries, the creation of networks between the Dutch academy and industry shows a rather peculiar pattern that is illustrative in clarifying how the relationships between scientists and the pharmaceutical companies were built. Dutch scientists could not ally themselves with the pharmaceutical industry, simply because no Dutch pharmaceutical company specialized in organpreparations existed prior to the 1920s. This situation forced scientists to opt for the strongest form of alliance they could create, namely to take part in the founding of a pharmaceutical company. Ernst Laqueur, a professor in pharmacology at the University of Amsterdam, was one of the three founders of Organon, the Dutch pharmaceutical firm that was founded in 1923. Based on an analysis of the early history of sex endocrinology, this paper examines the creation of networks between Laqueur and Organon. The paper concludes that the university laboratory played a crucial role in the development of Organon. Organon was dependent on Laqueurs laboratory for the provision of the required biological essay techniques in order to manufacture standardized hormone products, Moreover, Laqueur mediated all the contacts between Organon and the clinic, required for the clinical testing of hormones and the provision of raw materials for the making of hormones into chemicals and drugs.

El " específico homeopático ": legitimación comercial de la homeopatía en Barcelona (1902-1910) / The " homeopathic specific: " commercial legitimization of homeopathy in Barcelona (1902-1910)

Resumen El cambio en la posición que ocupaban los remedios homeopáticos en el mercado de la salud, derivado del emergente paradigma farmacológico, fue clave en la popularización de la homeopatía en España. La introducción de los específicos y sus técnicas de publicidad originó un aumento en la legitimación popular de la homeopatía y encontró en las pugnas entre diferentes profesionales un terreno abonado para la divulgación y la promoción de esta doctrina. El artículo analiza un caso de estudio contextualizado en Barcelona a principios del siglo XX, aproximándose desde diferentes perspectivas al nuevo rol del farmacéutico y el medicamento como divulgadores de la homeopatía y centrándose en las estrategias de la popularización de los remedios homeopáticos en España.

Abstract The change in position of homeopathic remedies in the health market produced by the emerging pharmacological paradigm was key to the popularization of homeopathy in Spain. The introduction of specifics and their marketing strategies led to a rise in popular legitimization of homeopathy, and the battles between different professionals created fertile ground for explaining and promoting this doctrine. This article analyzes a contextualized case in Barcelona in the early twentieth century, and explores from different perspectives the new role of pharmacists and medications in spreading homeopathy, centering on strategies for popularizing homeopathic remedies in Spain.

[Sanatoria for tourists, drugs at home, healers on demand: healing cultures in the Duchy of Gotha (1850-1950)]. / Sanatorien füir Touristen--Medikamente für zu Hause--Heilkundige nach Bedarf: Heilkulturen im Herzogtum Gotha (ca. 1850-ca. 1950).

Up to 1920 Thuringia was separated into many territories some of which were known for their unorthodox pharmaceutical industries. Gotha was the only famous duchy because one of its princes had married the Queen of England in 1840. The country was backward and the state administration was incapable of solving health issues. It was due to the interest of some physicians that the fragile balance between homeopathy, naturopathy, physicians and pharmacists broke down after 1900. But the state bureaucracy was unable to convince the people of its new healthcare approaches that were just based on scientific medicine.

Rediscovering MDMA (ecstasy): the role of the American chemist Alexander T. Shulgin.

AIMS: Alexander T. Shulgin is widely thought of as the 'father' of +/-3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA). This paper re-assesses his role in the modern history of this drug. METHODS: We analysed systematically Shulgin's original publications on MDMA, his publications on the history of MDMA and his laboratory notebook. RESULTS: According to Shulgin's book PIHKAL (1991), he synthesized MDMA in 1965, but did not try it. In the 1960s Shulgin also synthesized MDMA-related compounds such as 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA), 3-methoxy-4,5-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MMDA) and 3,4-methylenedioxyethylamphetamine (MDE), but this had no impact on his rediscovery of MDMA. In the mid-1970s Shulgin learned of a 'special effect' caused by MDMA, whereupon he re-synthesized it and tried it himself in September 1976, as confirmed by his laboratory notebook. In 1977 he gave MDMA to Leo Zeff PhD, who used it as an adjunct to psychotherapy and introduced it to other psychotherapists. CONCLUSION: Shulgin was not the first to synthesize MDMA, but he played an important role in its history. It seems plausible that he was so impressed by its effects that he introduced it to psychotherapist Zeff in 1977. This, and the fact that in 1978 he published with David Nichols the first paper on the pharmacological action of MDMA in humans, explains why Shulgin is sometimes (erroneously) called the 'father' of MDMA.

[Pharmaceutical industry and "New German Medicine" ("Neue Deutsche Heilkunde")]. / Pharmazeutische Industrie und "Neue Deutsche Heilkunde".

THe so-called "New German Medicine", initially propagated in the health policy of the National Socialist Party, promoted greater use of phytotherapeutic and homeopathic drugs by the medical community. In response, the "Reichsfachschaft der pharmazeutischen Industrie e. V." (Association of Pharmaceutical Industry of the Reich") was obliged to pursue a carefully chosen double strategy, given that the members of the Association were both manufacturers of natural remedies and manufacturers of allopathic drugs.However, the fact that I.G. Farben completely ignored the "New German Medicine" suggests that the large chemical-pharmaceutical manufacturers did not take this policy very seriously. The only documents pertaining to increased research in the area of natural remedies stem from the medium-sized manufacturers Knoll and Schering. In the case of both companies it is noteworthy that they worked towards obtaining a scientific foundation for the developed preparates, and that they employed conventional methods of chemical analysis and proof of activity. THe growth of the classical manufacturers of natural remedies, such as the company Willmar Schwabe was, as far as any growth at all could be observed, significantly smaller than had been theoretically postulated. There is no casual relationship between any commercial success during the period in which the Nazis were in power and today's commercial prosperity.Moreover, from the viewpoint of the pharmaceutical industry, the "New German Medicine" seems to have passed its zenith before 1936, when the 4-year plan for war preparation entered into force.

Opium and infant-sedation in 19th century England.

Infant cordials containing opium were commonly used in Victorian England to quieten babies and young children. The cordials were freely available and sold under a variety of brand names. JANET BRIAN describes the slow progress towards legislative control of the sale of opium and its use in infant cordials, in which opposition from the pharmacy lobby and government reluctance to lose income from the lucrative opium trade played a major part.