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From Aspirin to Viagra

Stories of the Drugs that Changed the World

Authors:

  • A collection of short stories detailing the histories of the most well-known drugs of our time
  • Weaves together research from historical and archival sources, along with existing academic literature
  • Requires no prior knowledge of the drug industry

Part of the book series: Springer Praxis Books (PRAXIS)

Part of the book sub series: Popular Science (POPS)

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Table of contents (11 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xii
  2. Aspirin

    • Vladimir Marko
    Pages 1-24
  3. Quinine

    • Vladimir Marko
    Pages 25-42
  4. Vitamin C

    • Vladimir Marko
    Pages 43-63
  5. Insulin

    • Vladimir Marko
    Pages 64-91
  6. Penicillin

    • Vladimir Marko
    Pages 92-120
  7. The Pill

    • Vladimir Marko
    Pages 121-146
  8. Chlorpromazine

    • Vladimir Marko
    Pages 147-166
  9. Prozac

    • Vladimir Marko
    Pages 167-181
  10. Viagra

    • Vladimir Marko
    Pages 182-212
  11. Vaccines

    • Vladimir Marko
    Pages 213-251
  12. Conclusion

    • Vladimir Marko
    Pages 252-253
  13. Back Matter

    Pages 254-276

About this book

From Aspirin to Viagra, insulin to penicillin, and vaccines to vitamin supplements, drugs have become part of our everyday lives. This staggering global industry wasn’t born overnight; advancements in pharmaceutical science have been happening for a long while, over the course of decades and even centuries.


This book tells the history of ten prominent substances and how they came to be common household names. It shows how the creation of such influential drugs often began with the right person at the exactly right—or wrong!— time. The chapters tell the stories of geniuses and charlatans; scholars and amateurs; advances won through hard work or pure luck; and ultimately, the handful of resounding successes that revolutionized a global industry.


Beyond the pioneers of the most famous drugs in our culture, the book analyzes how our perspective on medical treatment has shifted over the decades. Modern standards for testing and administering substances have created a new set of advantages, setbacks, and stigmas, all of which are discussed herein. 


Authors and Affiliations

  • Bratislava, Slovakia

    Vladimir Marko

About the author

Vladimir Marko was born in 1952 in Košice, Eastern Slovakia. He studied organic chemistry at Slovak Technical University and biochemistry at Comenius University, both in Bratislava. He finished his university studies in 1975 and PhD. studies in 1980.

From 1980 to 1991, Marko worked as a researcher in the Institute of Experimental Pharmacology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Bratislava. As a member of the Department of Pharmacokinetics, he was responsible for the determination of drugs in biological fluids. In that time, he published several scientific articles and was also an editor of a book dealing with drug determinations (Determination of Beta-Blockers in Biological Material, Elsevier Science Publishers, 1989).

In 1994, Marko began working for the Danish-based pharmacological company Lundbeck, first as a representative and later as the managing director for Slovakia. After nearly 20 years there, he retired in 2013.

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: From Aspirin to Viagra

  • Book Subtitle: Stories of the Drugs that Changed the World

  • Authors: Vladimir Marko

  • Series Title: Springer Praxis Books

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44286-6

  • Publisher: Springer Cham

  • eBook Packages: Medicine, Medicine (R0)

  • Copyright Information: Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-44285-9Published: 07 July 2020

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-44286-6Published: 06 July 2020

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XII, 276

  • Number of Illustrations: 3 b/w illustrations

  • Additional Information: English translation of the original Slovak edition published by Ikar, Bratislava, 2018

  • Topics: Popular Science in Medicine and Health, History of Medicine, Pharmaceutical Sciences/Technology

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 29.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 37.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access