The First Miracle Drug:

PENICILLIN DRUG
AKSHAT KHANDELWAL

Introduction
Penicillin (the wonder drug) is an antibiotic from a
penicillium mold, which kills off bacteria. This
antibiotic works by breaking down cell walls, which
make it impossible for the bacteria to live. Human
cells are not affected because they do not have cell

walls.
This drug is very effective for killing bacteria in the
body. Penicillin would kill diseases like pneumonia,
syphilis, gonorrhea etc. Another thing Penicillin can
do is to protect your body from infections. This is
very important in case you get a cut with deadly
bacteria in it.
History
For centuries people have been dying from deadly
bacteria. Until penicillin was discovered there was no
known form of antibiotic to cure infectious diseases.
In 1838 18,000 English and Welsh people died from
pneumonia (a treatable disease 100 years later), which
is caused by infection by deadly bacteria. Many
scientist were trying to find a pill you could swallow
that killed bacteria.
It wasnt until 1928 that an antibiotic was found;
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when a scientist noticed that a mold on a plate had

made bacteria stop growing. The best part of this
mystery mold is that it also kills bacteria too. The
scientist then turned the mold into mold juice and
called it penicillin, after the molds name penicillium.
The discoverer of the antibiotic was a Scottish man
by the name of Sir Alexander Fleming (1881-1955)
who was a scientist who also discovered other drugs.
In 1939 he was forced to stop research on penicillin.
Two smart scientists, Howard Florey and Ernest
Chain took over. These two men made it safe for
humans to swallow it. They also made it easier to
make. In 1945 Howard, Ernest, and Alex all won the
Noble medicine prize.
Effects of Drug
The effect of penicillin has been very large
throughout the last sixty years. Even today penicillin
is widely used throughout our community. Pretty
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much all of the outcomes of penicillin have been very

positive. Probably the most obvious and biggest
advantage from this antibiotic is the amount of people
saved. Just think of how many people would have
been killed from diseases like syphilis, pneumonia,
and gonorrhea.
Unlike most discoveries or inventions in the industrial
revolution penicillin did not change the people lives
that much. Yes, it would make people live longer and
would cause less trips to the hospital, but people
wouldnt move from their farms or move to a
different cities because of penicillin.
Another excellent result of the wonder drug was it did
not take away jobs like most inventions. It produced
jobs. For example, several jobs that may have been
created from penicillin would be working at the
fermentation plan, selling penicillin, or modifying the
antibiotic to make it more efficient.
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Future Problems
Although the antibiotic era dates from Flemings
discovery of the effects of the fungus Penicillium
notatumin 1928, not until 1940 could penicillin be
produced in a sufficiently pure form to treat
humans.1 Ominously, a lactamase (penicillinase)
capable of inactivating penicillin was described in the
previous year. Over the next few decades the
production of new classes of antibiotics (derived from
living organisms) and antimicrobials (synthesised
chemicals) increased exponentially, and the burden of
infection was lifted, especially in developed
countries. In recent years concern has increased that
the antibiotic era might be coming to an endfirstly,
because the rate of production of new agents has
diminished greatly and, secondly, because viruses,
bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and parasites are showing
great ingenuity in devising mechanisms for
circumventing the killing activity of such agents.
So great is the concern that several committees both
in the United Kingdom and elsewhere are examining
different aspects of the problem. This week the House

of Lords Select Committee on Science and

Technology has presented its conclusions (p1261)

What is antibiotic resistance? Here is a simple example. If you get a strep throat and take
penicillin for it, the penicillin will kill off most of the streptococcal (strep) bacteria. But a few
strep bacteria might survive. These survivors are, for many different reasons, resistant to
the medicine. The next time around, your strep throat might not respond to penicillin.
You can acquire drug-resistant bacteria in many different ways. They can come from
overusing antibiotics, or taking them when they arent necessary, as for a viral infection.
You can develop resistance to antibiotics by eating meat treated with antibiotics. Its also
possible to get an antibiotic-resistant infection from other peopleeven, unfortunately,
from health care professionals.
Why is antibiotic resistance a problem? The major issue is that commonly used antibiotics
will become less able to treat common infections. That means doctors must turn to more
powerful and sometimes less friendly antibiotics, or may not have anything in their
arsenal.

References
1. Selwyn S. The beta-lactam antibiotics; penicillins cephalosporins in perspective. London:
Hodder and Stoughton; 1989. pp. 155.
2. House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology. Resistance to antibiotics and
other antimicrobial agents. London: Stationery Office; 1998.
3. Gregory Curfman, M.D.Editor in Chief, Harvard Health Publications