psychopharmacologic advances of the 1950s, part 2: imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate

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Kevin Nasky, DO

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Grand rounds presentation reviewing the history of the development of the first antidepressants (imipramine and iproniazid) and the blockbuster anxiety medication, meprobamate (Miltown). Part two of a two-part presentation.

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Page 1: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate

Kevin Nasky, DO

Page 2: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate
Page 3: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate

Not much.

WHAT DID WE KNOW IN  1950?

Page 4: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate

⎯ Brain was thought to be entirely  electrical

⎯ Acetylcholine was the only  known neurotransmitter

⎯ Knew acetylcholine was  inactivated by choline

esterase

WHAT DID WE KNOW IN  1950?

Page 5: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate

Existence of serotonin

in platelets

LSD

(that it was a hallucinogen and  that it was chemically related to 

5HT)

The enzyme that oxidized  adrenaline: “Amine Oxidase”

Antihistamines

DISCOVERED BEFORE 1950

Page 6: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate

“When I was an undergraduate  student at Cambridge (late 

50s) we were taught…there  was no chemical transmission 

in the brain…

NeurotransmissionNeurotransmission

was  thought to be an entirely  electricalelectrical

phenomena

19501950

⎯ that it was just an electrical machineelectrical machine”Pharmacologist Leslie Iverson, Professor emeritus, U. of Oxford

Page 7: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate

“When I was an undergraduate  student at Cambridge (late 

50s) we were taught…there  was no chemical transmission 

in the brain…

NeurotransmissionNeurotransmission

was  thought to be an entirely  electricalelectrical

phenomena

19501950

⎯ that it was just an electrical machineelectrical machine”Pharmacologist Leslie Iverson, Professor emeritus, U. of Oxford

Page 8: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate

Acetylcholine was known to be a  neurotransmitter, but in the 

peripheralperipheral

nervous system only

19501950

Page 9: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate

A lot.

WHAT DIDN’T WE KNOW IN  1950?

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For example…

WHAT DIDN’T WE KNOW IN  1950?

Page 11: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate

…as late as 1960,  (now Nobel 

laureate) Arvid Carlsson

was 

practically laughed  out of town when 

he proposed that  dopamine might be 

a neurotransmitter.

Page 12: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate

Since neurotransmitters were not  even understood to play any role  in the CNS, there was virtually no  basis

to understand the 

astounding clinical findings  revealed in the decade ahead.

WHAT DIDN’T WE KNOW IN  1950?

Page 13: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate

THE CONCEPT

OF AN ANTIPSYCHOTIC OR  AN ANTIDEPRESSANT DID NOT EXIST

Page 14: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate

HOW WERE WE TREATING  MENTAL ILLNESS IN 1950?

Most  “treatments”

were simply  measures to  sedate patients in 

overcrowded  asylums.

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Physical Methods

Page 16: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate

Insulin  coma

ECT Leucotomy

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Bromides Barbiturates

Paraldehyde Opioids

Psychotropic Methods

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Psychosis

Depression

Anxiety

TREATMENTS OF CHOICE

Insulin Coma

Deep Sleep

ECT

Opioids

Various meds

Leukotomy

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Chlorpromazine and  Reserpine

A QUICK REVIEW…

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IN SEARCH OF BETTER  ANTIHISTAMINES

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What do Benadryl,  Phenergan, 

Thorazine and Tofranil  have in common?

Speaking of Antihistamines…

Page 22: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate

Definitely not their 

indications:

allergies, nausea, 

psychosis and depression,  respectively.

Speaking of Antihistamines…

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A (very) short course in the  chemistry of antihistamines:  How Benadryl became Thorazine 

(well, sort of)

Page 24: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate

Simple.

4 Easy Steps…

HOW DO YOU MAKE AN  ANTIHISTAMINE?

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Start with a substituted ethyl amine

Substitute methyl or other short alkyl groups in R1 and R2

X = C, O or NAdd an aryl group at R3 and R4

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Example:  diphenhydramine

Aryl groups  at R3 & R4

Methyl groups  at R1 & R2

X = oxygen

Page 27: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate

henri laboritExperimented with various 

phenothiazine anti‐ histamines in his lytic 

cocktails

to reduce  analgesia required in 

effort to reduce reduce  surgical shocksurgical shock

Page 28: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate

paul charpentier

Charpentier  synthesized a series of 

phenothiazines that  were strongly 

antihistaminergic.The most prominent of 

these was  promethazine

Rhône‐Poulenc chemistphenothiazine expertsynthesized the first tricyclic antihistamine, promethazine

Page 29: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate

Promethazine fits the classic  structure of an antihistamine

Page 30: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate

Flight Plan for Anesthetic Objective

“…like a conscientious airman [the anesthesiologist] previously has filed a flight plan that, when carefully followed, leads to the objective…”

To relieve apprehensionTo produce light sleepTo reduce the incidence of nausea and vomiting

Page 31: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate

Laborit wonders if there’s an even  better compound than promethazine 

for his "lytic cocktail"Patients given Patients given 

promethazine promethazine  were more were more 

calmercalmer

after after  surgery, surgery, 

needed needed lesslesspostpost‐‐op op 

morphine morphine andandanesthesiaanesthesia

Page 32: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate

henri laborit

Laborit asksRhône‐Poulenc to 

make a more  centrally‐acting 

antihistamine

Page 33: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate

PROMAZINEPROMAZINE

Replaced isopropyl group with a  straight carbon chain propyl

propyl(3‐carbon alkyl)

Page 34: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate

Laborit has good results with  Promazine, but said it was too weak. 

Asks Charpentier: Can you make  me a stronger Promazine?

Page 35: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate

It was well known that 

adding a halogen adding a halogen to an  organic molecule usually  increased its potency and  toxicity…

HOW DO YOU MAKE  PROMAZINE MORE POTENT?

Page 36: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate

CHLORpromazine

so Charpentier added  one chloride atom to  Promazine

and forever 

changed psychiatry.

Page 37: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate

Replace one sulfur atom…

BTW…

Page 38: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate

…with an ethylene linkage, preventing  formation of the benzene ring and you get

Page 39: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate

imipramine

Page 40: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate

•Replace the chlorine in  chlorpromazine

with a 

trifluoromethyl

group, and you  get trifluoperazine

(Stelazine).

•Add a terminal ethyl alcohol  group to trifluoperazine

and you 

have fluphenazine (Prolixin).

“ME TOO” DRUGS

Page 41: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate

Further manipulation of  this molecular structure  yielded numerous other  agents with antipsychotic 

activity.

“ME TOO” DRUGS

Page 42: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate

Summary (short version)

CHLORPROMAZINE

Page 43: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate
Page 44: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate
Page 45: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate
Page 46: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate

A TRANQUILIZING  ANTIHYPERTENSIVE  (that eventually makes you 

depressed)

Page 47: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate

Derived from Rauwolfia SerpentinaCommonly used antihypertensive in early 

1950sNoted to have tranquilizing effectsNathan Kline (of iproniazid fame) 

published a study in 1954 showing  reserpine’s

effectiveness in treating 

psychosis

RESERPINE SUMMARY

Page 48: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate

Ciba  markets 

“Serpasil”

I couldn’t  resist the  urge to 

show this  slide again

Page 49: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate

…acts as a gentle mood‐ leveling agent…sets up needed 

‘tranquility barrier’

for many  patients who, without some 

help, are incapable of dealing  calmly with a daily pile‐up of 

stressful situations.

Page 50: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate

Give the boy…

Alternative to Serpasil for 

Mom

Page 51: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate

..a bowl of 

Page 52: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate

After a short‐lived popularity  from 1954 to 1957, the use of  reserpine rapidly declined after  reports of patients becoming 

depressed

and suicidal

Reserpine’s popularity 

fades

Page 53: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate

Large contribution to eventual  development of catecholamine  hypothesis of depression and 

dopamine hypothesis of  psychosis

Reserpine’s Relevance

Page 54: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate

bernard ‘steve’

brodie

Brodie at NIH found that the brains of animals given reserpine had very low levels of 5HT and NE

Suggested that reserpine inactivates a mechanism to essential for 5HT storage

first demonstration of a link  between brain chemistry  and

behavior

Page 55: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate

Inhibits ATP/Mg2+ pump responsible for the reuptake of NT into presynaptic vesicles

Results in NE and 5HT depletion

Reserpine’s Mechanism

Page 56: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate

A FAILED SLEEP AID  AND ANTIPSYCHOTIC

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Häfliger and Schinder Synthesize Imipramine

Page 58: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate

Swiss firm founded in 1758

Geigy

later merged with Swiss firm  CIBA to form Ciba‐Geigy in 1970

Ciba‐Geigy and Sandoz

Laboratories  merge in 1996 to form Novartis

J.R. GEIGY PHARMACEUTICAL  FIRM

Page 59: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate

roland

kuhnStaff Psychiatrist at 

Münsterlingen

Head of  Pharmacologic Initiatives

Background in biochemistry,  organic chemistry, and 

psychoanalysis

Trained under Jakob

Klaesi (“prolonged sleep therapy,” “deep sleep cure”)

Geigy

pharmacologist,  Domenjoz, asks Kuhn to try 

new ‘sleeping pill’: G22150

Page 60: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate

Kuhn to Domenjoz: 

“This is no sleeping pill, but (it) has  curious effects on chronic 

schizophrenics −

not on their  sleeping pattern, but on their  schizophrenic symptoms.”

THIS AIN’T NO SLEEPING PILL

Page 61: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate

Münsterlingen

received a  Largactil

gratis

Kuhn: 

“The whole clinic was 

swallowing Largactil”

1953 KUHN GETS FREE  CHLORPROMAZINE FOR SIX MONTHS

Page 62: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate

Kuhn (paraphrasing): After six months an  R‐P rep said that the trial phase was over,  and now we’d have to pay

Münsterlingen’s

pharmacy budget was  6000 Swiss Francs per year, which was  needed foremost for morphine and 

scopolamine

R‐P SAYS “YOU GOT TO START  PAYING”

Page 63: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate

Kuhn to boss: “You know, I’ve  seen all this with a drug from  Geigy”

Kuhn gets “huge bottles”

of  G22350 from Geigy

MÜNSTERLINGEN CAN’T AFFORD − KUHN REMEMBERS GEIGY’S DRUG

Page 64: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate

Unpleasant side effects and not as  efficacious as Largactil

Kuhn to Geigy

chemist:

“You  should use the same side chain as 

Largactil.”

Substance already existed: G22355

G22350 DOESN’T COMPARE  TO LARGACTIL

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Kuhn’s verdict: “Not so good”

as a neuroleptic,  but worked on endogenous depressionworked on endogenous depression

G22355 had a disinhibitory

effect, “almost  manic”

“Converting quiet chronic patients into agitated  whirlwinds of energy”

Kuhn & Geigy

scientists confused: Why such a  bizarre response?

THE MAJORITY OF PATIENTS  WORSENED ON G22355

Page 66: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate

“Patients become generally more lively; their low  depressive voices sound stronger. (They) 

appear more communicative, the yammering  and crying come to an end. If the depression  had manifested itself in a dissatisfied, plaintive, 

or irritable mood, a friendly, contented and  accessible spirit comes to the fore. 

Hypochondriacal

and neurasthenic complaints  recede or disappear entirely.”

1955 KUHN GIVES G22355 TO  40 DEPRESSED PATIENTS 

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Kuhn told of patients who were ready to  jump out of bed in the morning, to 

socialize easily with fellow patients…“…to amuse themselves and take part in the 

general life of the hospital, to write letters  and interest themselves again in their family 

circumstances.”

1955 KUHN GIVES G22355 TO  40 DEPRESSED PATIENTS 

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It’s important to note that Geigy

was  searching for a neuroleptic to compete 

with LargactilResistance stemmed from the thinking that if 

there was going to be an effective antidepressant  (“psychic energizer”), that it would be a 

stimulant and not a sedative −

the idea that a  “sedative”

could work as an antidepressant was 

counterintuitive.

G22355 GET SHELVED?

Page 70: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate

Robert Böhringer

was very influential within  the company

Had penchant for roaming about company  asking people what they were working on

Had a depressed relative −

knew about  G22355 −

took some to her and she was 

“cured”

in five days

INFLUENTIAL GEIGY SHAREHOLDER  ALTERS THE COURSE

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Geigy

introduces drug in Switzerland•

1957 Kuhn presents remarkably positive 

results of trial to 2nd

international  congress of psychiatrists in Zürich

• Only 12 people in attendance•

“Nobody believed there could be a drug  

against depression.”

BÖHRINGER: “KUHN IS RIGHT  −

IT IS AN ANTIDEPRESSIVE”

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Imipramine was the first  “tricyclic”

because of its 3‐ring 

chemical structure

Chlorpromazine molecule only 2  atoms different

1958 GEIGY NAMES G22355  “IMIPRAMINE”

Page 73: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate

heinz lehmann

“No one in his right mind No one in his right mind  in psychiatry was in psychiatry was 

working with drugsworking with drugs. You  used shock or various 

psychotherapies"

Berlin psychiatrist refugee from Nazi Germany, working in hospital in MontréalAuthor of one of the first North American papers on CPZNever owned a car, cycled everywhere

Page 74: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate

heinz lehmann

Impressed with Kuhn’s  article, he obtained enough 

samples of imipramine by  airmail to treat depressed  patients with equally good  results. 

Lehmann published his  results with imipramine  in the Canadian Med 

Assoc J

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1959imipramine 

approved by FDA  for the treatment  of depression 

1961 Rival TCA’s

flood 

the market

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Jacobsen (1959): “Where the effect of  imipramine…is still a complete riddle 

which must await elucidation. Here  our present ignorance is such that not 

even a preliminary hypothesis can be  offered.”

Jacobsen E: The theoretical basis of the chemotherapy of depression. Proceedings of the Symposium Held at Cambridge, 22 to 26 September, 

1959, edited by Davies EB. New York, Cambridge University Press,

1964

1959: Imipramine’s MOA Still 

Unknown

Page 78: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate

julius

axelrod•

Found enzyme 

COMT

Discovered the  P‐450 system 

Nobel Prize 1970

“For discoveries concerning the  humoral

transmitters in the nerve 

terminals and the mechanism for  their storage, release and 

inactivation."

Page 79: Psychopharmacologic Advances of the 1950s, Part 2: Imipramine, iproniazid and meprobamate

Studies showed NE was inactivated  even when COMT and MOA were 

inhibited suggesting it was removed  some other way.

Where did the rest of it go?Axelrod

proposes there’s a 

reuptake pumpreuptake pump

in nerve endings

Where Did the NE Go?

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Reuptake? Reuptake? Pharmacologic theory  at the time never considered such a 

mechanism existed.Axelrod later admitted that if he’d 

known more about pharmacology  he would have never considered the 

idea.

Ignorance Isn’t Always  a Bad Thing

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Axelrod Proves that a  Reuptake Mechanism Exists

Infused  radiolabeled

NE 

injected into  animals is found in found in 

sympathetic fiberssympathetic fibers

19611961

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Imipramine Blocked the Blocked the  ReuptakeReuptake of [

3H]‐NE

Gave imipramine to Gave imipramine to  cats and measured cats and measured 

the concentration of the concentration of  injected [injected [33H]H]‐‐NENE

in various tissues.in various tissues.

1961

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joseph

j.  schildkraut

Groundbreaking 1965

paper  proposed the catecholamine catecholamine  hypothesis of depression. hypothesis of depression. 

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joseph

j.  schildkraut

The catecholamine hypothesis of  affective disorders proposes that if 

some, if not all, depressions  are associated with an 

absolute or relative  decrease in catechol‐ amines, particularly 

norepinephrine, available central  adrenergic receptor sites. Elation,  conversely, may be associated 

with an excess of such amines.”

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TUBERCULOSIS LEADS  TO AN UNEXPECTED 

DISCOVERY

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1951 IPRONIAZID  SYNTHESIZED

Like isoniazid,  iproniazid was found to be 

tuberculostatic

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Legendary Photo

Associated Press photo with patients dancing  and clapping

a Staten Island TB sanitarium. 

The caption under the photo supposedly  referenced their recovery from TB as the  reason for their levityreason for their levity, but others felt their 

mood was more related to one of the drugs  they had been given –

iproniazidiproniazid. 

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IPRONIAZID INHIBITS MONOAMINE OXIDASE

• Zeller et al. had earlier discovered  that anti‐TB drugs inhibited diamine 

oxidase

• Also discovered that

iproniazid

(but  not isoniazid) also inhibits

monoamine oxidase

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DELAY & DENIKER

PARIS, 1951• Delay and Deniker (of 

chlorpromazine fame) purport  isoniazid’s

“antidepressant”

effects 

at Société

Médico‐Psychologique• Never claimed credit for discovering 

antidepressants despite (?)

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nathan kline, md

The first to  show that 

reserpine could be  useful for treating 

psychoses

Asked Roche to fund study  of iproniazid in psychotic 

patients

19541954

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Roche Not InterestedRoche Not InterestedConcerns regarding side

effects

Rockland Hospital physician asks Kline if he had  any ideas how to help “regressed”

inpatients 

who had failed reserpine and chlorpromazine

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nathan kline, md

“The drug…has produced  ‘‘remarkableremarkable’’

mood mood 

improvement improvement and activity  among long‐term ‘untouchable’

psychotics

of the ‘burned‐out’ kind as well as among non‐

hospitalized neurotics”

Kline administered  iproniazid to these 17 

inpatients and 9 of his  clinic outpatients

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STILL NOT IMPRESSEDSTILL NOT IMPRESSED

Roche remained unenthusiastic but  eventually acquiesced when Kline 

threatened to publish his results  anyway −

as publicly as possible

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nathan kline, md

“As a side effectside effect…there developed an  odd problem. The patients felt too patients felt too 

goodgood…overexerting themselves and… ignoring the medical safeguards their  condition required. Iproniazid’s 

potential as a mood drug had gone  largely unnoticed because psychiatrists 

at the time just weren’t thinking along  those lines.”

Kline reports the beneficial  effects of iproniazid, an 

MAOI, in the treatment of  severe depression

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A side effect of an anti‐ tuberculosis drug may have 

led the way to chemical  therapy for the unreachable, 

severely depressed mental  patient.. Dr. Nathan S. 

Kline…

described the action  of the drug as a kind of 

"psychic energizer."

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Dropped like a hot potato after  1951 trials against tuberculosis  because of admittedly unpleasant 

and possibly serious side effects,  iproniazid was shunned until about 

a year ago, when psychiatrists  decided that it might be useful  against deep, unshakable states of 

depression.

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IPRONIAZID’S FATE

• 1959 Phenelzine (Nardil) Approved By  the FDA

• 1961 iproniazid (Marsilid) withdrawn as  being too hepatotoxic

for clinical use

• 1964 Kline receives second Lasker award

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IN SEARCH OF A  BETTER ANTIBIOTIC

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Frank Berger at Wallace working  on synthetic bactericidal 

compounds effective against  penicillin‐resistant gram‐

negative bacteria

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CARTER-WALLACE

Specialized In OTC Meds

Carter’s Little Liver Pills

“When you feel sour and sunk, and the world looks punk . . . Take a Carter’s Little Liver

Pill.”

In 1951 the FTC told Carter-Wallace to cut the word “liver” out of the product name

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MEPHENESIN SYNTHESIZED

The disinfectant phenoxetol

was believed  to be effective in combating gram‐negative 

rods

Phenoxetol’s

carbon chain was lengthened  to produce mephenesin, which showed 

some efficacy

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MEPHENESIN PARALYZES  MICE

During safety tests, mice developed a  reversible flaccid paralysis of the 

voluntary skeletal muscles•Vital functions preserved•Remained conscious•Responded to painful stimuli•Corneal reflex was preserved 

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MEPHENESIN PARALYZES  MICE

Autonomic nervous system unaffected Recovery was spontaneous and complete in an 

hourUnlike barbiturates it had a 

quieting effect on the demeanor of animals without a stage of

initial excitementThis effect was termed “tranquilization” by the 

team in their first publication of this finding

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Mephenesin introduced as a muscle  relaxer

for use in anesthesia

Mephenesin was first introduced in clinical  practice as an agent for producing muscle 

relaxation during light anesthesia by  Mallison

in 1947 as an alternative to 

tubocurarine

Its anti‐anxiety effect was recognized only  in brief case reports

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Mephenesin’s

Use Was Limited  By Three Significant Drawbacks

A very short duration of actionGreater effect on the spinal cord 

than on supra‐spinal structuresWeak action so that large doses 

were required

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BERGER SOUGHT TO DELAY  MEPHENESIN’S RAPID BREAKDOWN

He found that its short duration  of action was due to the rapid 

oxidation so he synthesized  various derivatives that were  less susceptible to enzymatic  attack

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1951 MEPROBAMATE  SYNTHESIZED

MEPROBAMATE’S ADVANTAGES  OVER MEPHENESIN

•More stable•Duration of action 8X longer•Readily absorbed from the GI tract•Had tranquilizing effect on monkeys so that 

they lost their viciousness and could be more  easily handled

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“MILTOWN”

Berger christened meprobamate  “Miltown” after the New Jersey  town Wallace laboratories was  located in.

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Wallace withholds financial  support to market Miltown

• Carter‐Wallace initially wouldn’t give Berger  financial support ($500,000) to bring the 

meprobamate to market• There was no preexisting market for 

prescription‐only tranquilizers• Wallace conducted a survey of 200 doctors to 

gauge interest in prescription anxiolytics −

the  majority of respondents expressed little majority of respondents expressed little 

interestinterest

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WALLACE SHELVES  MEPROBAMATE

Carter‐Wallace doubted there would  be a viable pharmaceutical anxiety 

drug market

and what would later be  the bestthe best‐‐selling psychotropic drug selling psychotropic drug  in American history wasin American history was, for the 

time being, shelvedshelved.

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WALLACE SHELVES  MEPROBAMATE

Wallace had a change of heart only after  the phenomenal success of 

chlorpromazine in 1953 and meprobamate  resurfaced from hibernation that year as 

the American answer to the French  chlorpromazine albeit with a marketing 

strategy that focused on a different  clientele! −

The Healthy The Healthy ““UnwellUnwell.”

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1955 MILTOWN’S DEBUT

Berger shows Miltown film at the 1955 meeting of the federation of American 

Societies for Experimental Biology in San Francisco

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FILM SHOWED MONKEYS IN THREE  DISTINCT CHEMICAL STATES

Naturally viciousUnconscious on barbituratesCalm but awake on Miltown

Film caught the attention of Wyeth executives

We Love Miltown!

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WYETH BUYS RIGHTS TO  MARKET AS “EQUANIL”

• The first drug to be  sold specifically as 

an anxiolytic • Touted as able to 

ameliorate anxiety  but not sedating

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THE LAUNCHING OF MILTOWN  IN 1955 WAS A WATERSHED

195735 million prescriptions sold

One prescription per second

Fastest‐growing drug in history

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HAPPINESS BY  PRESCRIPTION

“The use of tranquilizers has spread to the masses  of…neurotics and (others) vexed with problems and 

pressures.”Due to state laws permitting unlimited refills…“Miltown (was) the hottest (item) in many…big city   

pharmacies.”Family practice physician quoted:“The physician knows that if he doesn’t give them someone 

else will…Only a small number of people can get psychiatric 

help, so a lot of emotional problems are thrown back to the 

family physician; he turns to tranquilizers that he might not 

use if he had more time.”

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HAPPINESS BY  PRESCRIPTION

Busy Beverly Hills Psychiatrist confesses  that he sometimes pops down a 

tranquilizer himself

to prepare for the  nerve‐wrenching drive home from the  office:

“I wish the government would subsidize  slot machines for tranquilizers on every  corner.”

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THE NON  NARCOTIC ADDICTS

1965 article highlighting medical  community’s recent discovery that so‐

called “minor tranquilizers,”

e.g.  barbiturates, meprobamate, 

chlordiazepoxide and amphetamines are  as potentially addictive as narcotics and  can lead to intoxication and dependence

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Comedian  Milton Berle: 

“It’s worked  wonders for me. 

In fact, I’m  thinking of  changing my 

name to Miltown  Berle.”

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“MILTOWN”

BECOMES A HOUSEHOLD  NAME & PART OF THE CULTURAL LEXICON

•“Penicillin for the    blues”

•“Miltown‐ing”•“Miltown cocktails”•“dehydrated martini”•“peace pills”•“happiness pills•“emotional aspirin”

In New York, the drug’s  fanatical following among 

the white‐collar weary  earned it the nickname  “executive Excedrin”

“Happy pill”

alternative  for harried housewives  and stressed‐out 

commutersTranquilizer for the 

healthy “unwell”

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ADVICE FROM MEDIA

The Hollywood tabloid  Uncensored! reassured patients 

they could take Miltown and  Equanil

with confidence because 

“They are not habit forming and  even a severe overdose can’t kill  you.”

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MEPROBAMATE  PHARMACOLOGY

• Meprobamate does not affect  benzodiazepine or GABA receptors. 

• It appears to act by potentiating the  action of endogenously released 

adenosine; it blocks reuptake of  adenosine, which is itself a sedative

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SIDE EFFECTS

The major side effects are sedation and  mal‐coordination. 

Toxic in high dosesLess lethal than intermediate‐acting 

barbituratesA good deal more dangerous than 

benzodiazepines

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SIDE EFFECTS

Produces physical dependence and  tolerance similar to barbiturates and the 

benzodiazepines.

Significant withdrawal effects, such as  convulsions, agitation, and delirium, occur 

after clinically relatively lower doses

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POST‐MILTOWN:  BENZODIAZEPINES

Hoffmann – La Roche, New Jersey Leo Sternbach’s

synthesis of the 

first benzodiazepines was inspired  by chiorpromazine’s

tricycic

structure 

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TESTING LIBRIUM

Tested on a European lynx  (noted to be among the least 

tractable animals in captivity)  in San Diego Zoo that had 

bloodied its nose in a savage  dash against the side of its 

cage was treated with  Librium and soon after was 

frolicking frolicking ““like an alley like an alley  kittenkitten.”

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“Classic psychopathic personalities with  lifelong histories of antisocial behavior 

[who were formerly] mutilating  themselves, setting fires and starting 

fights [on Librium became] placid and  alert, despite their tension‐provoking  environment.”

ALSO TESTED ON  PRISONERS

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1960: LIBRIUM LAUNCHED

ROCHE’S CLAIMS:“Librium acts by allaying rage and anxiety

reactions without causing drowsiness or  depressing mental activity.”

“Produces pure relief from strain without  drowsiness or dulling of mental 

processes…and unusual freedom from  harmful side effects.”

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Questions?