Quinine Substitute

> There is no shortage of atabrine, the synthetic substitute for quinine.

> But if more is needed, the atabrine patents will be available, royalty free, to a score of pharmaceutical manufacturers who can step up production to astronomical figures. Equipment priorities for this purpose have not been granted because production is already far in excess of needs.

These facts emerged last week in answer to questions of California's Representative Bertrand W. Gearhart in the House. Said he: "Is it true that our soldiers, sailors and marines are today threatened with disablement because of a scarcity of this indispensable medicine? The American people are entitled to know, to know right now."

Winthrop Chemical Co. makes atabrine by a former German process under U.S. patents. Since 1933 Winthrop has gradually increased its atabrine production in stiff competition with natural quinine, gradually reduced its price (to the Government) from $66 to $6 per thousand tablets. By 1941, it produced 90 million tablets a year, enough for 6 million malaria cases. Even before Pearl Harbor this had been increased to 227 million tablets.

With quinine imports from the Orient shut off, Winthrop contracted with Merck & Co., Inc. to manufacture atabrine (TIME, April 27). Present production of the two firms is 500 million tablets, enough for 33 million cases of malaria. But both could produce several hundred million more in case of need.

Atabrine, however, is not a complete substitute for quinine since it attacks only one of the two forms of the malaria germ. Quinine attacks both. To make atabrine as effective as quinine it must be administered together with plasmochin (another synthetic). But the amount of plasmochin needed is small, and Winthrop has already increased its production 10,000%.

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