Watson Publishing Intl.

Hormones of life; endocrinology, the pharmaceutical industry, and the dream of a remedy for sterility, 1930-1970.

In the summer of 1948, the Swedish pharmaceutical company Leo announced a cure for sterility called Gonadex, but few now remember that Gonadex ever existed. Nordlund (history of science and ideas, Umea U., Sweden) investigates the evolution of reproductive endocrinology from 1930-1970, focusing on the design and development of Gonadex, how it was received, and why it remained on the market despite the lack of desired results. The chronological account of Gonadex's development is complemented with an analysis of the production and distribution networks within which Gonadex was developed and marketed, revealing the processes of innovation in the pharmaceutical industry and the interrelationships among science, industry, medicine, and the media. The book was first published in Sweden in 2008 by Arkiv Förlag. This English edition is slightly revised. Science History Publications USA is a division of Watson Publishing International. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)