Russell E. Marker. Pioneer of the Mexican steroid industry

Abstract

Pioneer of the Mexican steroid industry Russell E. Marker, one of the first American steroid chemists, discoverer of a plentiful source for our highlyprized steroid drugs and pioneer of the steroid industry in Mexico, disappeared completely from public view in 1949 at the height of his professional life. Since then numberless, diligent reporters have sought him out, hoping to regale their readers with news of the man whose achievements have altered the lives of a large portion of the world's population in making available the birth control "pill" (2). Most of them failed, and it had even been reported that he was dead. Recently however, a series of favorable circumstances made it possible for us to find him, to interview him and to organize an emotion-laden ceremony in which the Mexican Chemical Society honored him for his scientific achievements (3). This was the first public recognition of Russell E. Marker by the scientific community. It is the purpose of this biography to show that in addition to his well-known studies on steroids, he also made other important contributions to chemistry by his work on the fragmentation of organic mercury compounds, on the concept of octane number, on rearrangements in hydrocarbons and on the relation between optical rotation (including its dispersion) and configuration. It will show that he is indeed a forgotten great of chemistry whose scientific achievements should be better known (4).Education: Undergraduate Studies and Graduate Work at the University of Maryland At the end of his sophomore year at the University of Maryland, he was told by a friend that the basic organic course, which was given in the junior year, was the hardest subject of the program. Marker purchased a copy of the textbook used in the course (Norris) and during the summer

Green Fischer Indole Synthesis Using a Steroidal Ketone in a Conductively Heated Sealed-Vessel Reactor for the Advanced Undergraduate Laboratory

“…Furthermore, the experiment can be used as a launching pad for further discussions on a multitude of aspects. For example, we have used this experiment as a catalyst to investigate structures and properties of steroids or terpenoids, in general, their biosynthesis, their historical and societal impact, , as well as concepts of pro-drugs and pharmacophores in medicinal chemistry.…”

A Tale of Two Hormones

“…At this point the renegade organic chemist Russell Marker enters the story. He was by all accounts a somewhat complex personality, and apparently had his PhD withheld because of a philosophical clash with his supervisor (Lehmann et al, 1973). In the 1940s he came across a paper in which Japanese researchers described the extraction of a phytosteroid called diosgenin from a wild yam species common in that country, Diascorea tokoro.…”

“…The company refused, though the reasons for the refusal remain controversial. Some say that the company believed the venture was non-viable (Lehmann et al, 1973) while others contend it was because Marker refused to sign the patent for the process over to them. By late 1942, after being turned down by several pharmaceutical companies, Marker made the decision to manufacture the product himself.…”

“…He collected another 10 ton of tubers and employed a local coffee merchant to convert these into syrup for easier transport. In a borrowed laboratory, Marker was able to produce 3 kg of top-quality progesterone (Lehmann et al, 1973). The value of this first production run would have been about $3.5 million in today's dollars.…”

“…He set up his own pharmaceutical company, Botanica-Mex, but was subsequently sued by Syntex for 'stealing their process' . Undeterred, he found another tuber 'Barbasco' which had five times more diosgenin than the original and went on to synthesise not only progesterone but several other steroid hormones and corticosteroids from the basic extracted plant sterols (Lehmann et al, 1973). Marker later sold his company and devoted himself to commissioning Mexican-made replicas of antique European silverwork.…”