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
Chenodeoxycholic acid Chenodeoxycholic acid Chenodeoxycholic acid (also known as chenodesoxycholic acid, chenocholic acid and 3α,7α-dihydroxy-5β-cholan-24-oic acid) is a bile acid. It occurs as a white crystalline substance insoluble in water but soluble in alcohol and acetic acid, with melting point at 165–167 °C. Salts of this carboxylic acid are called chenodeoxycholates. Chenodeoxycholic acid is one of the main bile acids produced by the liver. It was first isolated from the bile of the domestic goose, which gives it the "cheno" portion of its name (Greek: χήν = goose). Chenodeoxycholic acid and cholic acid are the two primary bile acids in humans. Some