THE HISTORY OF THE PRODUCTION AND APPLICATION OF VETERINARY MEDICATIONS AND BIOLOGICAL PREPARATIONS IN POLAND FROM THE NINETEENTH CENTURY TO 1945

We can look to the year 1899 as the beginning of production of medications for animals in Polish lands, for it was then that the first press mention appeared regarding the availability of biological preparations originating from the Department of Hygiene of the Jagiellonian University in Krakow (Professor O. Bujwid’s section). Until 1918, there were only seven enterprises in operation offering veterinary medications. These were small laboratories, preparing galenic formulations, simple medicines, or sera and vaccines. These firms resumed their activities after the restoration of independence in 1918. The greatest problem for both those enterprises already operating as well as newly-established ones was the lack of investment capital, which forced them to engage firms from abroad (their shares reached up to 30%). A great hindrance to the development of manufacturing was the lack of producers of specialized instruments, as well as the limited availability of some chemical substances which were not produced in Poland. After a number of years these problems were solved, and the small laboratories transformed into large industrial plants. The development of the production of veterinary medications was supported by the state, which financed the establishment of the National Institute for Scientific Agriculture [Państwowy Instytut Naukowego Gospodarstwa Wiejskiego (PINGW)] in Puławy. The main aim of this institution was the develop strategies for the fight against infectious diseases from foreign farm animals, and one of its tools was the production of sera and vaccines on site. Among those involved in building the Polish veterinary industry, it is important to recall Professor Odo Bujwid, a student of Koch and Pasteur. His work was primarily in the diagnosis and fight against bovine tuberculosis and swine erysipelas. Professor Bujwid opened the second centre for rabies vaccination in the world (Pasteur’s was first). Work in the area of the fight against bovine tuberculosis was pioneering on a global level, and his use of tuberculin in the diagnosis of this disease was a major step in the fight against it. Bujwid described the production methods of tuberculin and antierysipelas serum in many publications, which led to the development of other biological veterinary enterprises, such as the Department of Serum and Vaccine Production of PINGW, The Sero company [Zakład Sero] of Professor Julian Nowak, or also the department of sera and vaccines of Mgr. Klawe. These four enterprises provided a full supply of veterinary sera and vaccines. Polish biological preparations, aside from their attractive prices, were of high quality. Research conducted in the National Institute of Hygiene as well as in institutions abroad repeatedly indicated that Polish sera had higher antibody levels and remained more stable. Thanks to the domestic biological veterinary industry, at the beginning of the 1920s the spread of rinderpest was contained. Among the firms producing veterinary medications in Poland, three joint-stock companies were dominant: the Mgr. Klawe Chemical and Pharmaceutical Industrial Company [Towarzystwo Przemysłu Chemiczno – Farmaceutycznego d. Mgr Klawe S.A.], the Ludwik Spiess and Son Chemical Company [Zakłady Chemiczne Ludwik Spiess i Syn S.A.] and the Fr. Karpiński Chemical and Pharmaceutical Company [Chemiczno – Farmaceutyczne Zakłady Fr. Karpiński S.A.]. In the case of the Mgr. Klawe company, its founder, Henryk Klawe, was regarded as the reformer of the Polish pharmaceutical industry. Aside from traditional medications, he brought into production of new forms of administration of medications (injections), as well as organic and biological preparations. In 1920, certain production sections were given priority, including the veterinary section. In order to meet the demands for production of biological veterinary preparations, property was purchased in Drwalew, where the Department of Serology and Bacteriology as founded, which became the scientific and material basis for the Serum and Vaccine Production plant. Efficient organization, an in-house research facility and high-quality products were the calling-card of the company and became the standard for other Polish companies. The high quality and attractive prices earned recognition from clients abroad, and the company’s medications were exported to France, Canada, and the Near East. Rich and exhaustive information regarding the preparations in Weterynaria Współczesna [Contemporary Veterinary Medicine] and other professional journals led to their popularity in medical circles. A similar direction, based on science and the introduction of new technologies, was adopted by the companies Ludwik Spiess and Son and Fr. Karpiński. A certain difference, important for veterinary medicine, was that in the case of these companies, the production of medications for animals was not a priority. Both of these companies produced simple medications, easy to manufacture, and which were in essence copied by many smaller firms. Local manufacturers constituted a major supply source for medications for practicing veterinarians, and so even the smallest laboratories were a great aid in the treatment of animals. The history of the rise of the pharmaceutical industry in Polish lands falls under the period of partitions, which significantly reduced the dynamism of its growth. The policies of the partition powers tended to restrict the influence of Polish businesses. Three different legal models led to divergent interpretation of regulations after the restoration of independence in 1918. This forced the Polish government to unify the law and to pass new legislation that permitted the regulation and monitoring of production. Unfortunately, especially in regard to veterinary preparations, the regulations were not always clearly phrased. This led to the situation that the majority of preparations were produced without any permit, and there were at most 47 registered medications (in 1935). The lack of monitoring of manufactured medications could affect their quality. Formally, every producer had to hold a permit from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but in practice, the SERO company in Krakow ran production until 1931 solely on the basis of a letter of intent from the Ministry of Agriculture. The development of the veterinary pharmaceuticals was possible thanks to the engagement of a group of scientists and industrialists. The previously mentioned Professor Odo Bujwid should be listed in first place. Also from Krakow was Professor Julian Nowak, founder of the Sero company, a professor at the Jagiellonian University and Prime Minister of Poland. Nowak, to a large degree, brought about the limitation of the appearance of infectious diseases. After the restoration of independence, as one of the first he declared his preparedness to undertake the production of sera and vaccines, initially on the premises of the Jagiellonian University, later in his own facility. A great contribution was that he started production using his own funds, and part of the funds earned he invested in equipping the Department of Veterinary Medicine of the Jagiellonian University and enriching the academic library. A large role in the creation of the Polish biological veterinary industry was played by Feliks Jaroszyński, VS, the director of the Serological Section of the PINGW in Puławy. One of his first tasks was the fight with rinderpest, namely organising and supervising the production of biological preparations. The campaign ended in complete success. Thanks to the work of Jaroszyński and others, Poland and Western Europe could continue to raise cattle. In 1935, on the basis of Serological Section of the PINGW led by Jaroszyński, the Veterinary Department of the PINGW was founded with Dr. Kazimierz Zagrodzki as director. He began working with great energy to build the Department. The entire investment project was to be 5.7 million złoty. Thanks to the work of Dr. Zagrodzki, a refrigeration plant was built in Michałówka, which was supplied with laboratory instruments and production equipment, and construction of the building begun that is the current location of the National Veterinary Institute. In the Mgr. Klawe company, the Serum and Vaccine Production facility was directed by Dr. Tadeusz Jastrzębski, who founded the facility following the example of the State Serum and Vaccine Factory in Ivanovice na Hané (Czechoslovakia). The rise of the Polish pharmaceutical industry, including the veterinary sector, was the accomplishment of several dozen smaller and larger businesses, apothecary laboratories, galenic and biological veterinary manufactories. The companies mentioned in this work set the direction for the development of industrial pharmaceuticals. Their particular activities were part of a general effort to develop domestic production of medications for animals, based on domestic materials and technologies developed by the scientists, company owners and directors mentioned here. This goal, aside from the economic benefits, as the driving force for the work of industrialists, veterinarians, chemists, and scientists.

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