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Your leader quotes Werner Wenning, chairman of Bayer, saying: "We are
very
happy that the aspirin sculpture is being used as a symbol of the
significant
achievements of the German pharmaceutical industry." Leidig continues:
…"before the chemist Felix Hoffman, who worked for Bayer, synthesised
acetylsalicylic acid,…"
A BMJ paper* showed the truth is somewhat different§.
In a 1949 paper, Eichengrün, a colleague of Hoffman, claimed that he had
instructed Hoffmann to synthesise acetylsalicylic acid and Hoffmann had
done
so without knowing the purpose of the work. In 1944, while in
Theresienstadt
concentration camp, Eichengrün had typed a letter (now in the Bayer
archives)
very similar to his 1949 paper. He said that his objective had been to
obtain a
salicylate that would not give rise to the adverse effects (gastric
irritation,
tinnitus) associated with sodium salicylate.
In a commemorative volume marking Bayer's 50th anniversary Arthur
Eichengrün pointed out that after examining acetylsalicylic acid Dreser (
a
Bayer scientist at the time) had set it aside for nearly 18 months until
he once
again became involved with it in 1898. Dreser, (who contributed the
next
article in the same publication), never disputed this statement. It is
evident
that Bayer AG still do not accept the rightful role of Arthur Eichengrün
detailed in these references.
“Sic transit gloria mundi.”
Refs:
*Sneader W. The discovery of aspirin: a reappraisal BMJ
2000;321:1591-1594.
§ Pearce JMS. The disputed origins of aspirin. In: Pearce JMS.
Fragments of
Neurological History. London, Imperial College Press. 2003. Pp.513-17.
Aspirin:roles of Hoffman and Bayer
Your leader quotes Werner Wenning, chairman of Bayer, saying: "We are
very
happy that the aspirin sculpture is being used as a symbol of the
significant
achievements of the German pharmaceutical industry." Leidig continues:
…"before the chemist Felix Hoffman, who worked for Bayer, synthesised
acetylsalicylic acid,…"
A BMJ paper* showed the truth is somewhat different§.
In a 1949 paper, Eichengrün, a colleague of Hoffman, claimed that he had
instructed Hoffmann to synthesise acetylsalicylic acid and Hoffmann had
done
so without knowing the purpose of the work. In 1944, while in
Theresienstadt
concentration camp, Eichengrün had typed a letter (now in the Bayer
archives)
very similar to his 1949 paper. He said that his objective had been to
obtain a
salicylate that would not give rise to the adverse effects (gastric
irritation,
tinnitus) associated with sodium salicylate.
In a commemorative volume marking Bayer's 50th anniversary Arthur
Eichengrün pointed out that after examining acetylsalicylic acid Dreser (
a
Bayer scientist at the time) had set it aside for nearly 18 months until
he once
again became involved with it in 1898. Dreser, (who contributed the
next
article in the same publication), never disputed this statement. It is
evident
that Bayer AG still do not accept the rightful role of Arthur Eichengrün
detailed in these references.
“Sic transit gloria mundi.”
Refs:
*Sneader W. The discovery of aspirin: a reappraisal BMJ
2000;321:1591-1594.
§ Pearce JMS. The disputed origins of aspirin. In: Pearce JMS.
Fragments of
Neurological History. London, Imperial College Press. 2003. Pp.513-17.
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests