Penicillin, the miraculous curer of human disease, has long suffered serious ills of its own. Because it is destroyed by the stomach’s gastric juices, doctors have had to administer it by injection. Because it is excreted so rapidly by the kidneys, the injections have had to be repeated every two hours. Result: for the patient, hospitalization and pain; for the doctor, a time-consuming nuisance.
Announced in Manhattan last week was a cure for penicillin’s handicaps. Dr. Raymond L. Libby, American Cyanamid Co. biophysicist, reported that he had perfected a method of administering the drug by mouth. Now the way has been paved for treatment at home.
The Libby method: the drug is suspended in an oil (indigestible by the stomach) and enclosed in a capsule. In the stomach, the capsule dissolves and the penicillin passes into the small intestine in the oil, where it is absorbed by the blood.
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