A STICKY QUESTION GETS STICKIER
THE WHOLE STORY of SPERTI OINTMENT
While
a grad student, George Sperti (center right) founded UC's Basic Sciences
Laboratory with the encouragement of UC president and engineering dean
Herman Schneider, founder of cooperative education (center left). In 1926,
lab staff included three alumni doctors (pictured from the left) -- Leonora
Bilger, George Burger and Robert Withrow, later director of the Smithsonian
Institution's radiation laboratory.
Back in the early 1920s, UC undergraduate George Sperti, Eng '23,
grabbed Dean Herman Schneider's attention by inventing an electric meter
capable of measuring massive quantities of electricity, as consumed by
industries. After selling the patent to Westinghouse, Sperti turned down
numerous high-paying offers and remained at UC as a research assistant.
Soon he started a research laboratory in the basement of Old Cunningham
Hall, then moved the growing facility to a McMicken attic. Before his
30th birthday, the renowned Sperti had led a research team in discovering
the ultraviolet wavelengths that make vitamin D. Next were numerous patents
in selective radiation used to create vitamins, kill bacteria, preserve
foods such as orange juice and invent the sun lamp and Aspercreme.
In 1935, Sperti founded the Institutum Divi Thomae, a tuition-free research
school attracting international students. Following years of cancer research,
the school discovered a cell derivative to stimulate healthy-cell growth;
named it Bio-Dyne, from the Greek words bios (life) and dyne (force);
and used it in Sperti Ointment, later renamed Preparation H.
In all, three different Bio-Dynes were discovered. By 1970, the institute
held approximately 127 patents.
Stories abound of the original Preparation H being used on scars, burns
and even wrinkles. The formula contained two active ingredients, shark
liver oil and live yeast cell derivative.
The U.S. product no longer contains LYCD because of clinical-testing irregularities
the FDA discovered. The Canadian and European versions, however, do contain
the ingredient, ironically enough, supplied by a Northern Kentucky firm.
Yeast extracts are the main focus of Biologics International, which acquired
the equipment in '89 to manufacture and sell the raw material worldwide
to pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries, including Wyeth. President
Amy Miles, who used to work with Sperti, says the material does promote
wound healing and reduce signs of aging. In fact, she has a tube of Viennese
Preparation H on her desk to soothe chapped lips -- though "it kind
of grosses people out," she admits with a chuckle.
While her company has no intention of taking on the FDA to create a new
LYCD drug, she is currently formulating a cosmetic cream using a pharmaceutical
grade of LYCD.
-- D. Rieselman
