Penicillin Production in Chile between 1944 and 1954 Producción de Penicilina en Chile entre 1944 y 1954

Abstract

© 2015, Sociedad Chilena de Infectologia. All rights reserved.Penicillin production in Chile was a pioneering development; however there is not much information to learn about it. The Chilean Institute for Bacteriology (Instituto Bacteriológico de Chile) produced penicillin between 1944 and 1973. The stage starting in 1953 is better known since there was an agreement with United Nations. Our research focused on building a story about production between 1944 and 1954 based on archival information and the national and international historic context. Our results place Chile amongst the pioneer countries in the successful industrialization of the drug. Our conclusions are that this was a proper industrial production as opposite to a pilot plant-a name commonly used to call the early factory. We explain the production plant trajectory by making relations between technological change and governance. Finally, we believe the later expansion of the plant, in the context of the agreement with th