Elixir Sulfanilamide poisonings

Thus began the marketing of a therapeutic solution that mixed two chemical compounds, one the first drug to combat effectively bacterial infections, the other a powerful poison. The prescribing of Elixir Sulfanilamide caused over a hundred deaths, many of them of children provoked national panic and spurred a desperate effort, led by the Food and Drug Administration, to track down the lethal "elixir" and to remove it from drugstores and homes. In the longer run, the Elixir... 

Elixir sulfanilamide, containing the poisonous solvent diethylene glycol, kills 107,... 

Unfortunately, children treated with the new liquid didn t get well. They died. In all, 107 people died (mostly children) from taking Elixir Sulfanilamide. Why The chemists who developed the elixir knew that sulfanilamide could not be dissolved in water so they used a different, untested liquid in which to dissolve the helpful drug. That liquid, which became the base for the new liquid medication, was called diethylene glycol. It was much like what we use in automobile antifreeze today. The liquid used to carry a beneficial drug to bacterial infections poisoned those who took it. 

Geihng E, Cannon P. Pathogenic effects of elixir of sulfanilamide (diethylene glycol) poisoning. A clinical and experimental correlation. Final report. Journal of the American Medical Association, 1938,111 919-926. 

Elixir of Sulfanilamide, containing a poisonous solvent, kiUs 107 people including children, drama-... 

The law of 1906 was only a beginning. It did not regulate the safety and effectiveness of drug formulations. This was no more evident than in the case of mass poisoning which resulted from the consumption of "elixir of sulfanilamide" produced by the S.E. Massengill Company of Bristol, Tennessee. Between September and October 1937 doctors had prescribed almost 12 gallons of a 10% solution of sulfanilamide in an ethylene glycol(antifreeze) solvent flavored with saccharin, caramel, amaranth, and raspberry extract. The company s chief chemist, Harold Watkins, was not aware of the toxicity of that concentration of the solvent. 

Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic (FD C) Act. Tragedy Sulfanilamide elixir made with poisonous solvent causes 107 deaths. Result Requires manufacturers to prove the safety of products before marketing. 

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