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The Quest for New Biodynamic Substances
- Perspectives in Biology and Medicine
- Johns Hopkins University Press
- Volume 10, Number 2, Winter 1967
- pp. 177-210
- 10.1353/pbm.1967.0039
- Article
- Additional Information
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THE QUEST FOR NEW BIODYNAMIC SUBSTANCES ERNST BORIS CHAIN, Ph.D., F.R.S.* I. An Auspicious Occasionfor Stocktaking and Planning the Future Let me, first of all, say how very sensible I am of the honor of the invitation extended to me by Dr. Max Tishler, president of this worldrenownedpharmaceuticalcompany , to address you today on the auspicious and festive occasion ofthe dedication ofthe new, very extensive, up-todate , and comprehensively equipped research laboratories, provided with the complicated and expensive array of instruments the modern scientist must have at his disposal ifhe is to remain in the front line ofevents. They represent a powerful stepping-up öf the already formidable research potential of Merck and Company. A heavy financial investment by any standards, they are the most concrete and most tangible expression, visible, and understandable to all, of the company's faith in the power of the forces of research in the quest for new biodynamic substances. I use this term to denote biologically active substances, that is to say, substances that have the property of influencing metabolic reaction rates in biological systems—man, animals, insects, micro-organisms, and plants— in the intact organisms as well as in isolated enzyme systems, in the retarding as well as the accelerating sense. The purpose of science is not only to understand nature but to harness and tame its forces for the benefit of mankind; and for those of our community of scientists engaged in fighting disease in its manifold manifestations, infectious as well as metabolic , in man as well as in livestock, for those ofus who are engaged in improving crops, making more food available, improving its flavor, and preserving it for longer periods, the quest for new biodynamic substances is ofvital importance and one ofour chieftasks. * Head, Department of Biochemistry, Imperial College of Science and Technology, London, England. This paper was presented at the dedication symposium ofthe new research laboratories of Merck Sharp and Dohme in May, 1966. It will be included in a collection ofpapers to be published in book form by Merck Sharp and Dohme. I77 An occasion like this dedication ceremony is, of course, ideally suited for stocktaking as well as for trying to peer a little into the misty horizons of the future. Stocktaking is easy. We are all conscious of the fact that we have lived through a period exceptionally rich in discoveries ofpotent biodynamic substances, which have revolutionized therapeutic medicine as well as agriculture beyond the most audacious dreams of scientists even as short a time ago as three decades. This company had its fair share of contributions in this spectacular succession of scientific victories in the field of vitamins, the steroid hormones, diuretics, and antibiotics. There is no doubt about the past. The great question, which occupies the minds of us all, is: Can the almost breathtaking pace of marvelous progress be maintained in the future and, ifso, by what means? To crystal gaze into the future is a more difficult proposition than to chronicle and comment on past achievements; and predictions of any degree of accuracy are, in fact, impossible for anyone who, like myself, is not endowed with the supernatural gift ofa prophet. It is, however, possible to analyze the factors that have been responsible for the great successes of the past, both the scientific principles that were at the base ofthe great discoveries and the organizational features that created the most favorable environment for the discoveries to be made. It is this kind ofanalysis that I propose to attempt here, in the belief that this is an interesting and worthwhile task and one that at the same time gives me the very welcome opportunity to formulate some general thoughts that have been in my mind for a long time. Let it be clearly understood at the outset that I am certainly not presumptuous enough to imagine that I can teach anything to my very distinguished and very capable professional colleagues in this audience, who are deeply steeped in the problems posed by the search for new biodynamic substances; their main daily concern is the solution of these problems and, after all, they have shown by the splendid results they have obtained...