Miracle medicine: The impact of sulfa drugs on medicine, the pharmaceutical industry and government regulation in the United States in the 1930s.
Item
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Title
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Miracle medicine: The impact of sulfa drugs on medicine, the pharmaceutical industry and government regulation in the United States in the 1930s.
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Identifier
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AAI9959161
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identifier
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9959161
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Creator
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Balis, Andrea Frances.
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Contributor
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Adviser: David Rosner
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Date
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2000
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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History, United States | History of Science | Health Sciences, Pharmacy | Health Sciences, Medicine and Surgery
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Abstract
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This is a study of the impact of sulfa drugs on the practice of medicine, pharmacy and the regulatory powers of the Food and Drug Administration. Sulfa drugs were the first efficacious anti-infectives, preceding penicillin by several years. They had an immediate and dramatic effect on maternal mortality statistics both in the United States and in Europe.;Sulfa drugs were developed by a German pharmaceutical company, and French scientists quickly identified the active ingredient in the compound as sulfanilamide, which was in the public domain. The technology needed to produce sulfa drugs was easily accessible and American drug companies immediately began to produce their own sulfa drugs.;These new drugs, developed in the laboratory, helped pharmaceutical companies to redefine themselves as purveyors of scientific products as opposed to patent medicines. Pharmaceutical companies also used sulfa drugs in their ongoing campaign to convince physicians that they should regard drug companies as allies rather than competitors in the health care industry.;In 1937, Elixir sulfanilamide, an over-the-counter sulfa product containing a toxic solvent caused over 100 deaths before the drug could be recalled. The resulting scandal dislodged stalled drug reform legislation, which ultimately became the Pure Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938. This law increased the responsibilities of the Food and Drug Administration, and created the new category of non-narcotic prescription drugs, which were considered too potent to leave in the hands of the lay public. These were the "miracle" medicines, but they would only be available to patients through the intercession of physicians.;As a result, the relationship of doctors and pharmaceutical companies changed. The practice of medicine was transformed by sulfa drugs and the antibiotics, which quickly followed, and by the changing expectations of the lay public that the laboratory and doctors, working together, could conquer disease. Furthermore, the public believed that the safety of these new drugs would be guaranteed by the regulatory reforms which followed in the wake of the Elixir Sulfanilamide tragedy.;These drugs served as a catalyst for significant change in both the practice and the culture of medicine and pharmacology, and ushered in a new age of patient expectation, physician confidence, as well as enhancing the prestige and profits of the pharmaceutical industry.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
