Penicillin: Mass Production Method (1941)
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Fleming discovered penicillin but couldn't produce it at scale. Florey and Chain brought it to the US where deep-tank fermentation was chosen over surface culture, enabling mass production that saved millions of WWII soldiers.
Deep-Tank Fermentation
1941-1943
year
Industrial — billions of units
production scale
Dropped dramatically with scale
cost
Chosen — enough penicillin for D-Day
outcome
Surface Culture (Bottles)
1940
year
Laboratory — barely enough for one patient
production scale
Extremely expensive
cost
Initial method — too slow for war needs
outcome
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