Aspirin

Enrico Caruso swore by it, and even Thomas Mann could not resist its effect. Aspirin in tablet form is a real all-rounder, capable of relieving pain, reducing fever and stopping inflammation.

On 10 August 1897, the Bayer company began to win its battle against pain: Felix Hoffmann synthesized a white powder – acetylsalicylic acid. Whereas pure salicylic acid not only relieves pain, but also causes severe nausea and irritates the mucous membranes, Hoffmann now developed the first painkiller with minimal side effects. The sales figures which followed the company's internal trials proved sensational, and the drug became the best-selling medicine on the market. Although Bayer lost its patent to an American company after the First World War, 12,000 of the 50,000 tonnes of acetylsalicylic acid produced each year are today still made by Bayer.

Significance: with 3,500 publications a year, the quest for the hidden talents of ASS is still ongoing. So far, aspirin has been found to protect against heart attacks, strokes and intestinal cancer.

Invented by: Felix Hoffmann
In: 1897

Special Information: It was not until 70 years after the three-fold effect of aspirin was discovered that British pharmacologist John Vane unravelled the mechanism which produces the effect. In 1982, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for his research, and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.