Beecham-Distillers

Title

Beecham-Distillers

Shelfmark

MS. Abraham 82/C.606-C.624

Summary

C.606-C.614: Beecham Group plc., 1970-1991, n.d. Beecham was a manufacturer of semi-synthetic penicillins. In 1959 the company succeeded in isolating the penicillin nucleus '6-APA'.

Correspondence, mostly regarding requests for chemical samples for research and exchanges of information. Included are correspondence and papers regarding the Beecham Colloquium (September 1981): at C.612 is a copy of a transcript of a discussion at the colloquium 'The Control of Antibiotic-resistant bacteria', in which Abraham participated; and a proof, with manuscript corrections, of a paper 'The Design of New Antibiotics and Bacterial Resistance' by Abraham, probably given at the colloquium. Also included at C.614 is correspondence regarding Abraham's assistance to Beecham in patent litigation.

C.615: Bristol-Myers Company (USA), 1973, 1978-1987. Correspondence regarding studies on B-lactam antibiotics.

C.616-C.620: CIBA Ltd., 1961-1966, 1973-1975. CIBA was one of the companies granted a licence by the NRDC in the 1960s to research methods of producing the Cephalosporin C nucleus. Correspondence and papers: included at C.618 and C.619 are manuscript and typescript drafts (some incomplete) of Abraham's lecture entitled, 'Preliminary Experiments on the Biosynthesis of Cephalosporin C', with related correspondence. Also at C.619 is a copy of a 3pp typescript of a talk by Abraham entitled 'Gordon Conference'.

C.621-C.624: The Distillers Company Ltd., 1949, 1953-1963. In the 1950s Distillers produced quantities of cephalosporin for use by the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology. The company reached an agreement with the NRDC (1959) for research into Cephalosporin C. Correspondence etc.: included is material relating to a patent dispute between Beecham Research Laboratories Ltd. and Distillers.

Date

1946-1994, n.d.

Language

English

Physical extent

19 folders