Heinrich Dreser (1860–1924), Arthur Eichengrün (1867–1949), Felix Hoffmann (1968–1946), John Vane (1927–2004)
Aspirin is one of the cheapest, most readily available, and widely used drugs in the world for the reduction of fever and relief of pain and inflammation. It is also routinely used as a “blood thinner” to prevent clots, reducing the risk of heart attack and stroke. Regular aspirin use may also reduce the risk of several cancers and Alzheimer’s disease—claims that are not yet substantiated.
Aspirin, a product introduced into medicine in 1899, transformed F. Bayer & Company from a small German dye company to an international pharmaceutical and chemical giant. But who at Bayer was responsible for aspirin’s discovery? The principal claimants were Felix Hoffmann, Heinrich Dreser, and Arthur Eichengrün. Hoffmann, the chemist who synthesized aspirin in 1897, is generally acknowledged as aspirin’s discoverer. He later said that he prepared it as a substitute for the sodium salicylate his father was taking for rheumatism. Dreser was responsible for the pharmacological evaluation of new chemicals at Bayer but lacked initial interest in testing aspirin. After his heroin pet project had begun to show signs of failure, however, he became aspirin’s champion and authored an early paper on its effectiveness—omitting reference to Hoffmann and Eichengrün. Eichengrün, the director of pharmaceutical research, aggressively promoted the secret testing of aspirin by Berlin physicians, even when actively discouraged by upper management.
Recent evidence suggests that Eichengrün, and not Hoffmann, should receive credit for aspirin’s discovery. Before his death in 1949, Eichengrün claimed that he directed Hoffmann to synthesize acetylsalicylic acid, although Hoffmann was unaware of why. Moreover, Eichengrün did not challenge Hoffmann’s 1934 claim to be the discoverer because, as a Jew in Nazi Germany, he needed to maintain a low profile.
Not in dispute was the trade name Aspirin for acetylsalicyclic acid, with a representing acetyl and spirin representing Spiraea ulmaria, the former name of a plant from which salicylic acid is derived. Seven decades after the release of aspirin, John Vane, at the University of London, determined how aspirin works: All its major effects can be attributed to its ability to inhibit the synthesis of prostaglandins, which play a major role in pain, fever, and inflammation.
SEE ALSO Heroin (1898), Acetaminophen/Paracetamol (1953), Plavix (1997), Enbrel, Remicide and Humira (1998).
From the time of its introduction, aspirin has been called a wonder drug. Reports of new medical applications continue to appear far beyond those promoted in this 1923 French advertisement.