Death to Beauty
eBook - ePub

Death to Beauty

The Transformative History of Botox

  1. English
  2. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  3. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

Death to Beauty

The Transformative History of Botox

About this book

In the 1970s, Dr. Alan Scott sought to selectively weaken eye muscles to treat strabismus (when one or both eyes are misaligned) without surgery. After failed attempts with other agents, Scott developed a method to stabilize the bacteria that causes botulism, culminating in a drug that eventually became known as Botox.

In Death to Beauty, Eugene M. Helveston, MD, follows the unlikely story of botulism's 1817 discovery in contaminated German sausages, to its use in military and research facilities, to Scott, an ophthalmologist who aimed to safely use the drug in humans. Scott struggled alone as an unknown in the pharmaceutical industry, searching for clinical trial financing and FDA approval, which he achieved at a fraction of the billions big pharma usually spends to bring a drug to market. Eventually, the company Allergan bought him out, capitalizing on the possibilities for cosmetic uses. Scott's formula was renamed "Botox" and reached annual sales in the billions. After the sale, Scott received no further compensation from Botox sales and remained the same unassuming man.

A fascinating walk through the intricate history of how the world's deadliest toxin starting as a treatment for crossed eyes became a routine tool for the cosmetic industry, Death to Beauty will make you rethink success, beauty, and deadly bacteria.

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Yes, you can access Death to Beauty by Eugene M. Helveston in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Medicine & Medical Theory, Practice & Reference. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedication
  5. Contents
  6. Author’s Note
  7. Preface
  8. Acknowledgments
  9. 1. Clostridium Botulinum
  10. 2. The World’s Deadliest Poison
  11. 3. The Canning Industry
  12. 4. An Outbreak in the United States
  13. 5. A Rare and Deadly Disease
  14. 6. World War II Sets the Stage
  15. 7. Camp Detrick—US Army Biological Warfare Laboratories
  16. 8. Fort Detrick and the CIA
  17. 9. The Government Steps In
  18. 10. Edward Schantz Testifies
  19. 11. Back in Madison
  20. 12. Dr. Alan B. Scott
  21. 13. Progress in the Lab
  22. 14. First Injection in a Primate
  23. 15. First Injection in a Human
  24. 16. Joining the Team
  25. 17. Manufacturing Begins
  26. 18. Marketing and Selling a New Drug
  27. 19. Botox and Beauty
  28. 20. Dermatology Opens the Floodgates
  29. 21. Botox and Neurology
  30. 22. The Legacy
  31. Epilogue
  32. Appendices
  33. Glossary
  34. Notes
  35. Index
  36. About the Author