title: Standardization of biological medicines: the first hundred years, 1900-2000.
abstract: The use of materials of biological origin in medicine has a long history. These materials, including tissue, organ and microbial extracts, blood and its derivatives, antibodies and hormones, share the feature that for much of the last century the ability to characterize and quantify the active substance was limited. Quantification of these substances depends on biological standardization, a discipline that was refined to a science by the Medical Research Council from the 1920s onwards, and which, with contributions from several prominent Fellows of the Royal Society, including principally Sir Henry Dale, the UK has led the world to the present date.
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Biological Standards and Control, Blanche Lane, South Mimms, Potters Bar, Hertfordshire EN6 3QG, UK. abristow@nibsc.ac.uk
authors.forename: Adrian F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Bristow
authors.forename: Trevor
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Barrowcliffe
authors.forename: Derek R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Bangham
mesh_terms: D001688:Biological Products / Q000266:history* / Q000592:standards; D005858:Germany; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000266:history / Q000592:standards; D038622:Internationality / Q000266:history; D007880:Legislation, Drug / Q000266:history*; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations / Q000266:history / Q000592:standards; D012015:Reference Standards; D012958:Societies, Scientific / Q000266:history; D006113:United Kingdom; D014612:Vaccines / Q000266:history / Q000592:standards
chemical_list: D001688:Biological Products; D007328:Insulin; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations; D014612:Vaccines