The result of this first high-throughput screen was
Arsphenamine (also known as Salvarsan), a drug whose effectiveness was nothing short of stunning for its time.
Paul Erhlich, the Nobel laureate famed for groundbreaking work ira hematology and immunology, coined the term chemotherapy and discovered
arsphenamine (Salvarsan), a form of arsenic and the first chemotherapeutic agent for systemic treatment of a microorganism.
According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), "Biological product means a virus, therapeutic serum, toxin, antitoxin, vaccine, blood, blood component or derivative, allergenic product, or analogous product, or
arsphenamine or derivative of
arsphenamine (or any other trivalent organic arsenic compound), applicable to the prevention, treatment, or cure of a disease or condition of human beings" (U.S.Food and Drug Administration, 1999).
One of the early chemicals developed by Ehrlich which was both remarkably nontoxic to humans and remarkably toxic against a number of treponemal diseases (including syphilis and yaws) was the arsenical compound, Salvarsan
arsphenamine, which was also called the "magic bullet".
The statute defines a "biological product" as a "virus, therapeutic serum, toxin, antitoxin, vaccine, blood, blood component or derivative, allergenic product, protein (except any chemically synthesized polypeptide) or analogous product, or
arsphenamine or derivative of
arsphenamine (or any other trivalent organic arsenic compound), applicable to the prevention, treatment, or cure of disease or condition of human beings." See Public Health Service Act, ch.