John II. Dreiver of llynson. West cot t, arid Dunning and J. U. Outgoing president of ADJVIA, John S. Zinsser, Sharp & Fullerton ofi'pjohn Co., chairman of scien tific section·., ADM Λ Dohrne, and his successor, /?. L. McNeil, McNeil Laboratories

World Needs Outlined at Drug Industry Meeting

Ev iVENTs of the past year have forced the drug manufacturers to extend their thinking far beyond our shores and boundaries, and as individuals they must now come to grips with a new challenge and a new responsibility, declared John S. Zinsser in addressing the 36th annual meeting of the the American Drug Manu­facturers Association at Bretton Woods, Ν. Η., June to 10.

Dr. Zinsser, retiring president, of the AD MA, is board chairman of the Sharp <fe Dohme, Inc., Philadelphia. He was suc­ceeded as association president at the meeting by Robert Lincoln \ l · Neil of the McNeil Laboratories, Philadelphia.

The new world-wide obligations of the drug industry, Dr. Zinsser said, was the theme of the 1948 convention. The war sadty crippled both medical education ami pharmaceutical production on the Euro­pean continent, lu? pointed out. It forced Latin America to look to us rather than to Europe as its source of therapeutic agents, and it opened the minds and eyes of millions of people in more backward areas to the wonders of American medi­cine.

There is still much to be done, now that a tremendous market has been opened for American medical knowledge and medical products. The industry provides the world with large quantities of therapeutic agents which have world-wide application. Our chemotherapeuties and antibiotics are now known and used the world over, and in this connection he noted that, in addition to the United States, only Can­ada, England, Australia, and France had exportable surpluses of antibiotics in 1947. The industry here also sponsors

A S T A F F H E P O R T

and conducts research of special form and application. An example was the work dealing with the use of penicillin in yaws, an ailment normally not found in the United States.

The speaker then referred to the Euro­pean recovery plan, our firmer national stand against further expansion of another totalitarian philosophy in Western Europe, our increased military expenditures, and pending selective service legislation. It was everyone's fervent hope that these steps would avoid another shooting war; however, the pharmaceutical industry was ready for any mission assigned to it.

hJ. L. Henderson of the board of trustees, Américain. Médical Associa­tion, discusses international medicine

Within recent weeks, the surgeons general of the Army and Navy had ordered the reactivation of the Drugs Resources Advisory Committee as a con­sulting group to the medical supply serv­ice. As in the last war, the ADMA executive secretary, Carson P. Frailey, had been named chairman of this com­mittee.

It is to be hoped, Dr. Zinsser added, that the formation of this committee is but the first step in direct and active pharmaceutical industry participation in future defense planning. The National Security Resources Board created by Congress, combining the functions of all important war agencies, will need the pharmaceutical industry's assistance, and it can call on the Drugs Resources Ad­visory Committee for this purpose.

The Bretton Woods meeting of the prescription drug manufacturers (the ADMA does not include proprietary drug makers) heard reports from sections on scientific work, foreign trade, trans­portation, legislation, and staged a "Car­son Frailey Night," commemorating its executive secretary's 25 years of service to the association.

Scientific Reports The report of the scientific section, read

by J. B. Fullerton, outlined work con­ducted recently in the determination of phénobarbital, vitamin A; certain botani­cal drugs, and pantothenyl alcohol.

The report said that under the chair­manship of John H. Speer, the Com­mittee on General Medicinal Preparations investigated a direct titration method for the determination of phénobarbital in

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tablets. This method appears to have possibility for the rapid control of manu­facturing processes, but is not specific for phénobarbital, and therefore could not. be used on an official basis. The scientific section of the ADMA suggested that any laboratory interested in the pro­duction of phénobarbital tablets would do well to investigate the method.

Frederick Fengcr, chairman of the Committee on Glandular Products and Ferments, had reported to the section on the final assay of the new pepsin standard for the National Formulary. A study of the procedures for the assay to pancreatin was given consideration, but the work has not advanced to the stage where a report can be made.

A. Lee Caldwell, chairman of the Committee on Vitamins and Nutrition, reported on the present confused situation with respect to vitamin A. Work is being continued on a spectrophotometric method of assay, and i t is hoped that the situation will soon be clarified.

The committee has cooperated with the U. S. Pharmacopoeia in a study which it is hoped will lead to the adoption of an inter­national standard for vitamin A. Such a standard would be of material benefit to all users of this vitamin, it was said. Studies also are under way on the deter­mination of various factors of the Β group.

The committee on pharmacological assays, under chairmanship of Dr. Wal-ther H. Ott, has undertaken a study of the pyrogen test. The primary objective is to determine whether or not the test can be evaluated as a quantitative assay. The wrork has not been completed and will be reported later.

Pantothenyl Alcohol An interesting feature of the scientific

section's meeting was a report b3r

Saul Rubin of the Hoffmann-LaRoche laboratories on pantothenyl alcohol, the alcohol corresponding to pantothenic acid. He presented some interesting data on the comparison of this product with the salts of pantothenic acid with respect to stability and reaction with the mammalian system. He also offered a new idea in biological assay procedure which may be found adaptable to the determinations of other substances.

Better antirabic vaccines are available which afford better protection for humans against rabies and more effective control of the disease in dogs, it was reported by a committee on these vaccines. While the present antirabic vaccines possess good antigenic potency, their use is sometimes attended by local or generalized reactions. Research is now in progress in several laboratories looking to the preparation by ethanol fractionation of \^accines rela­tively free of brain tissue, also to the preparation of vaccines from rabies virus cultivated in embryonic eggs.

W. R. Kirner, director of the Chemical Biological Coordination Center, National

Frank F". Law, Wyeth, inc., read the report of the foreign trade section

Research Council, presented a rather extended report on the work of the Cenret, which succeeded the insect and rodent control committee appointed by Dr. Vannevar Bush in 1944.

Among the objectives of the new CBCC is a screening program which will provide considerable data on the chemical and biological properties of compounds and which, may lead to the discovery of im­portant uses. Thousands of such com­pounds are stored in university, govern­ment,, and industrial laboratories.

A large percentage of the compounds, Dr. Kirner said, have never been tested while only a small percentage may have been tested for a single purpose. The CBCC has made arrangements with 26 laboratories for testing chemicals sub­mitted to the center for their action on a wide variety of animal and plant life. To date, some 4,000 compounds have been

made available for screening tests, and 700 compounds are now in process of being tested.

ADMA members heard three out­standing medical men discuss the newest developments in world medical organiza­tion. E. L. Henderson, chairman of the board of trustees, American Medical Association, discussed "International Medicine"; T. C. Routley, secretary of the Canadian Medical Association, spoke on "Organization and Objectives of the World Medical Association"; and. L. H. Bauer, secretary general, WMA, dwelled upon the organization and ob­jectives of the U. S. committee.

"Frailey Night" ADMA officials, army, navy, and other

government representatives participated in the tribute to Mr. Frailey who this year completed a quarter century of serv­ice of the association. The gift of the ADMA to its executive secretary was a large silver serving tray, and certificates of appreciation were formally presented to Mr. Frailey by the U. S. Navy and by the War Office.

The Navy's tribute, signed by Rear Admiral C. A. Swanson, Burgeon General, noted his "exceptional cooperation and outstanding services rendered to the medical department of the Navy during World War II."

The War Office certificate cited Mr. Frailey for "patriotic civilian service to the Department of the Army."

The association elected as vice presi­dents, Carleton H. Palmer, board chair­man of E. R. Squibb & Sons; John L. Smith, president of Chas. Pfizer & Co; and Donald S. Gilmore, president of the Upjohn Co.

New members of the executive com­mittee of the association are Francis Boyer, president of Smith, Kline, & French laboratories; and Dr. Robert Cutter, president of Cutter Laboratories.

Mrs. Frailey and Carson #'. Frailey, executive secretary of ADIMA, and gifts presented to him. by the association in, recognition of his 25 years of service

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