Esteban Rodríguez-Ocaña . The social production of novelty: diphtheria serotherapy, «herald of the new medicine»

Gabriel Gachelin The designing of anti-diphtheria serotherapy at the Institut Pasteur (1888-1900): the role of a supranational network of microbiologists

Summary 

1.—Introduction. 2.—Shuttling of research on diphtheria between France and Germany. 3.—The designing of French standards and norms in accordance with German ones. 4.—The rapid decline of strong anti-German feelings at the Institut Pasteur.

Abstract

The development of anti-diphtheria serotherapy at the Institut Pasteur immediately followed the crisis known as the Pasteur-Koch debate. Research on diphtheria in Paris is indicative of the importance granted by Pasteurian scientists to Koch’s school criticisms. After 1887, relations between French and German bacteriologists became more relaxed. A scientific and social network develops between them. It later extended to other fields of research at the Institut Acta Hispanica ad Medicinae Scientiarumque Historiam Illustrandam VOLUMEN 27 2007 Pasteur, particularly therapeutic chemistry. The evolution of Franco-German relations at the Institut Pasteur is placed in the general framework of the way French universities considered German science.

Jonathan Simon. The origin of the production of diphtheria antitoxin in France, between philantropy and commerce

Summary

1.—Introduction. 2.—The origins of the serum. 3.—The production process. 4.—Serum at the Pasteur Institute; the pros and cons of media exposure. 5.— The serum and the finances of the Pasteur Institute. 6.—The serum legislation. 7.—French culture and the serum industry. 8.—Conclusion: serum in European cultures.

Abstract

Serotherapy for the treatment of diphtheria represented a major therapeutic innovation at the end of the nineteenth century. The manner in which large-scale production of this medicament was undertaken and the regulations that governed its production and distribution were important elements of public health policy in France as in other European countries. This paper describes the dominance of the Pasteur Institute in this field and, starting from this observation, explores what this event in the history of medicine can tell us about the governance of public health in fin-de-siècle France. The particular organization of this institute and its monopoly of specialist microbiological knowledge allowed it to raise money for serum production from both private and public sources, walking the line between a commercial pharmaceutical venture and a philanthropic enterprise.

Annick Opinel. The Pasteur Hospital as an element of Emile Roux`s anti-diphtheria apparatus (1890-1914)

Summary 

1.—Introduction. 2.—The context of the development of serotherapy against diphtheria. 3.—Roux’s project. 4.—The production site of the serum: Marnesla- Coquette (Garches). 5.—The Hôpital Pasteur. 5.1.—Financing. 5.2.—The order. 5.3.—The architect. 5.4.—Description. 5.5.—Internal distribution and circulation. 5.6.—Influence and inspirations. 6.—The Hôpital Pasteur as a model. 7.— Contestation of the model. The Hôpital Pasteur: an expensive ideal.

Abstract

Before the decisive discovery by Gaston Ramon of a vaccine («anatoxine diphtérique») in 1923, the fight against diphtheria in France had started in 1894 with the serotherapy approach of Martin and Roux. Emile Roux, director of the Institut Pasteur, developed a dynamic concept of research/production/application expressed in the organization of a specialized hospital, the Hôpital Pasteur, which was constructed near the research laboratories and also incorporated production centres outside Paris in Marnes-la-Coquette. Roux implemented a well-defined project against diphtheria that took account of all of the logistical implications. By associating this therapeutic project with an architectural project, Roux established a coherent anti-diphtheria apparatus.

Axel C. Hüntelmann. Diphtheria serum and serotherapy. Development, production and regulation in fin de siècle Germany

Summary

1.—Introduction. 2.—The socio-cultural context of science in fin de siècle Germany. 3.—The development of diphtheria serum in Germany. 4.—The production of diphtheria serum in the German empire. 5.—State control of diphtheria serum. 6.—Serum networks and indirect state regulation.

Abstract

The development, production and state regulation of diphtheria serum is outlined against the background of industrialisation, standardization, falling standards of living and rising social conflict in fin de siècle Germany. On one hand, diphtheria serum offered a cure for an infectious disease and was a major therapeutic innovation in modern medicine. On the other hand, the new serum was a remedy of biological origin and nothing was known about its side effects or long-term impact. Moreover, serum therapy promised high profits for manufacturers who succeeded in stabilizing the production process and producing large quantities of serum in so-called industrial production plants. To minimize public health risks, a broad system of state regulation was installed, including the supervision of serum production and distribution. The case of diphtheria serum illustrates the indirect forms of government supervision and influence adopted in the German Empire and the cooperation and networking among science, state and industry.