Epoch-making milestones in antibiotic exploratory researches in Japan^†

^†This work is a translation of an original work in Japanese in the Japan Society for Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Agrochemistry http://doi.10.1271/kagakutoseibutsu.54.27.

Figures & data

Table 1. Remarks on discovery and development of penicillin, streptomycin, and kanamycin.

	1929	1940s		1950s	1960s
Penicillin（PC）
UK	Discovery （Fleming）	Rediscovery (40) （Florey et al.）	Nobel Prize (45) (Fleming, Florey et al.)		PC resistant emerged Methicillin（67; semi-synthetic PC）
USA		PC mass production（Merck） by tank fermentation of Q176 strain			Semi-synthetic PCs
Japan		Hekiso Committee (44; Inagaki & Umezawa et al.)
		Screening fungi → Large scale production（Pharma. companies）
		Foster’s lecture (46; GHQ Sams)
Streptomycin（SM）
USA		Initiation of actinomycetes screening
		→ SM discovery (44)		Nobel Prize (52; Waksman)
Japan		Natl. Inst. of Health Japan est. (46)
		Japan Antibiotics Res. Association est. (47)
		Mass production using SM-producing strain
		（Sams→Umezawa & Pharma. companies）
				Waksman Foundation of Japan Inc. est.（57）
Kanamycin（KM）
Japan		Initiation of actinomycetes screening		KM discovery (57)	Institute of Microbial Chemistry est. (62)
				Approval. for sale (58)	Order of Culture Merit (Umezawa; 62)
				mass production（Meiji Seika）
USA				KM symposia （NY Academy of Science; 58 & 67）
				License for sale in US（Bristol Myers; 58）

Fig. 1. Key contributors to develop antibiotic researches in Japan.

Notes: SAJ: Society for Actinomycetes Japan, JARA: Japan Antibiotics Research Association, NIHJ: National Institute of Health Japan, IMC: Institute of Microbial Chemistry, PCG: Penicillin G, KM: Kanamycin, AG: Aminoglycoside, MCL: Macrolide.