Secrets, Bureaucracy, and the Public: Drug Regulation in Early 19th-Century Prussia

Abstract

Drug regulation is usually regarded as an outcome of contemporary history closely connected to the rise of a large pharmaceutical industry, the growing drug market, and the expansion of state authority (Chauveau, 1999; Daemmrich, 2004; Bonah and Menut, 2004; Löwy and Gaudilliere, 2006). It may then seem strange to start a special volume on drug regulation with an analysis of drug approval starting in the early nineteenth century. Indeed, there are many differences between today’s regulation and the kind of regulation presented here. Neither the aims, nor the tools, nor the objects seem to be comparable with our current concept of drug surveillance (Abraham and Reed, 2002; Abraham and Davis, 2006). Today, the drug market is dominated by ready-made specialties portioned in galenic preparations. The active ingredient is mostly comprised of a single chemical or biological substance, and more rarely two or three substances. The effects are usually explained in physiological terms (aside from psychological effects, as with a placebo). Regulation is therefore about maximizing effectiveness, reducing toxicity, and avoiding adverse reactions, and involves state authorities, as well as professional groups (physicians and pharmacists), companies, and NGOs (grassroots, self-help, consumer-support and advocacy organizations, patients, and families).