Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928, yet antibiotics weren't widely available to the public until after World War II. Did the political situation in the lead up to war affect their development and distribution?

by td4999
rxneutrino

Interestingly, one of the reasons for the slow development of penicillin was possibly Fleming himself. Fleming was famously poor at communicating.^1 His original paper on the antibiotic was considered obscure and failed to garner attention^2 until Roosevelt's war production board^3 facilitated the increase in production to aid the war effort in Europe. In this way, the war likely helped to expedite mass production. For reference, the US had made only enough penicillin to treat 10 patients in 1942. By 1944, we had produced 2.3 million doses in preparation for Normandy landing.^4

  1. Olson R. Houston, We Have a Narrative, Why Science Needs Story. University of Chicago Press; 2015.

  2. Lax, Eric (2004). The Mold in Dr. Florey's Coat: The Story of the Penicillin Miracle.

  3. Franklin D. Roosevelt: "Executive Order 9024 Establishing the War Production Board.," January 16, 1942.

  4. John Parascandola (1980). The History of antibiotics: a symposium. American Institute of the History of Pharmacy.