Dr. Hans Emanuel Enoch

H ENOCH MD Hans Enoch led a charmed life over 95 years, surviving front line action in the German army in the first world war, the Nazis, tuberculosis, tetanus, psittacosis, and a plane crash. He became world renowned in the 1940s for the ingenious development of two crude forms of penicillin in large quantities and at low prices, which were used until penicillin could be manufactured in its pure form. After his father's death Hans took over and ran his company, which produced, sold, and distributed vaccine and serum throughout Germany and Austria. In 1932 he was arrested by the Nazis and falsely accused of deliberately contaminating serum, causing deaths. Shortly afterwards Jews were barred from supplying medicaments and from medical practice, but because Hans had been a front line soldier in the war (he had been awarded the Iron Cross) he was saved from this ruling. He was continually harrassed, however, and in 1934 was imprisoned for seven months. Realising at last that there was no future for him in Germany, he moved to England and established the International Serum Company. At that time only one other firm was producing serum and vaccines in England. Hans started to produce vaccines for veterinary use in 1935 and for use in humans a year later. He soon developed an edge over other companies as he was prepared to offer a 24 hour delivery service. During the second world war Hans was interned as an enemy alien for eight months, but he subsequently returned to his company. In 1943 the first reports of penicillin began to appear, but the pure form was both difficult and expensive to produce. Hans experimented and produced two products: Vivicillin, which was best used by injection, and Pennotin, which was for oral use or external application for wound healing. These were first tried out in animals before being used in humans and proved to be successful. The results were published in Nature in 1944. Orders flooded in from all over the world, as did offers of financial backing. These drugs were in demand for several years until purified penicillin became readily available at the end of the decade. Hans continued his successful career until retiring in his early 70s. Hans Enoch had many interests: sailing in his younger years, opera, stamp collecting, family genealogy, and travel. He married late in life, his first son being born when he was 56. He is survived by his wife, Kate, his two sons, and five grandchildren.-