Targeting in drug research and the medical scene

Abstract

At Boehringer Ingelheim several beta blocking compounds were developed early on in the race. Boehringer’s scientists possessed the compound Lg 32 that turned out to become the most successful beta blocker, e.g. propranolol, even before the ICI scientists discovered the compound. Although there was so much potential, Boehringer was eventually left empty handed with only memories of a period that could have brought so much success to the company. This suggests that Boehringer had the compounds but not the right ideas. However, such a view about failure, or success, in pharmaceutical research neglects the medical side of the story of industrial development. The crucial point is what the “right” ideas were and why they were picked up at one place and not at the other. If the Boehringer project is considered against the background of medical perceptions of cardiovascular disease and therapy, the failure at Boehringer is seen in quite a different light. For, neither success nor failure are without cause.