How the DEG molecule (tragically) changed the history
The Deadly Cost of No Pharmaceutical Regulations in the Early 20th Century When Medicine Became Poison In 1937, the pharmaceutical industry in the United States was largely unregulated. Companies could manufacture and sell medications without proving they were safe for human consumption. This lack of oversight led to one of the deadliest drug-related disasters in history: the sulfanilamide tragedy . A Tennessee-based company, S.E. Massengill Co., produced a liquid form of sulfanilamide, a popular antibiotic at the time. To dissolve the drug into a syrup, the company used diethylene glycol (DEG) , an industrial chemical found in antifreeze. No one tested its safety before mass distribution. The result? Over 100 people died , many of them children, due to acute kidney failure caused by the toxic ingredient. Why Did This Happen? The answer is simple: there were no laws requiring drug safety testing . At the time, the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 only r...