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From goose feathers to GRAZAX® – The history of ALK
the content and strength of extracts according to the requirements of each individual allergy patient and produce preparations in precise, prescribed concentrations. Løwenstein gradually started to focus solely on allergy work. He returned to the Protein Laboratory on a full-time basis in 1972, and in 1974 he proposed to Olrik that he should become consultant to the Allergological Laboratory, with a view to developing a standardisation programme and setting up a completely new specialised laboratory. A deal was struck and Løwenstein began working one day a week at the Allergological Laboratory. With him as the driving force, work commenced on plans to produce the first standardised allergen preparations. It was at this time that Allpyral was approved for use in Denmark. As well as its advantages in terms of treatment, its doses were stated in protein units and not (as was the case for the Allergological Laboratory’s preparations) by weight/volume, so it quickly assumed preferential status at the Rigshospital. Doctors diagnosed patients using Danish extracts, but then prescribed American preparations for treatment. Other non-Danish competitors used similar methods but the immediate threat was from Allpyral, and the Allergological Laboratory found
itself in an unsustainable situation that threatened its very existence. The Laboratory survived the immediate threat after it managed to obtain a French formula for binding allergens to aluminium hydroxide based on Alhydrogel, an aluminium hydroxide gel manufactured by the Danish company Superfos. Soon, it was busy producing extracts based on the French formula. The storm seemed to have subsided, but it was clear that the Allergological Laboratory was at a crossroads. International competitors were beginning to exert serious pressure and, even though the discoveries of Weeke and Løwenstein had tremendous market potential in Denmark and abroad, major investment was needed in research and development as well as production. There was also a pressing need to find premises that were larger and better equipped than those at Kronprinsessegade, especially since the National Board of Health had introduced stricter requirements for sterile environments. A property at 23 Ved Amagerbanen was purchased on 1 June 1974, in which the Laboratory’s staff – now expanded to twenty – would enjoy almost three times more space. The purchase price was DKK 2.3 million, but on top of this came the cost of new laboratory facilities,
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Scientific breakthrough
From goose feathers to GRAZAX® – The history of ALK
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