Grünenthal prohibited the research and manufacture of penicillin by German companies. When the ban was lifted, Grünenthal was the first company to introduce penicillin in the postwar period into the German market. This investment achieved a big financial boost for the company. Chemie Grünenthal synthesized thalidomide in 1954 and acquired a 20-year patent. Soon after obtaining a patent in April 1954, the company started clinical trials, and as early as November 1956, marketed the drug for the treatment of respiratory infections under the trade name Grippex, a combination drug that contained thalidomide, quinine, vitamin C, phenacetin, and acetylsalicylic acid. Researchers at
Chlorosulfuric acid Chlorosulfuric acid Chlorosulfuric acid (IUPAC name: sulfurochloridic acid) is the inorganic compound with the formula HSOCl. It is also known as chlorosulfonic acid, being the sulfonic acid of chlorine. It is a distillable, colorless liquid which is hygroscopic and a powerful lachrymator. Salts and esters of chlorosulfuric acid are known as chlorosulfates. Chlorosulfuric acid is a tetrahedral molecule. The formula is more descriptively written SO(OH)Cl, but HSOCl is traditional. It is an intermediate, chemically and conceptually, between sulfuryl chloride (SOCl) and sulfuric acid (HSO). The compound is rarely obtained pure. Upon standing with excess sulfur trioxide, it decomposes to pyrosulfuryl