Journal of Postgraduate Medicine Medknow Publications and Staff Society of Seth GS Medical College and KEM Hospital, Mumbai, India ISSN: 0022-3859 EISSN: 0972-2823 Vol. 56, Num. 3, 2010, pp. 191-191

Journal of Postgraduate Medicine, Vol. 56, No. 3, July-September, 2010, pp. 191

News and Filler

Discovery of valproate

Gogtay N

Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Seth GS Medical College and KEM Hospital, Mumbai 400012, India

Correspondence Address: Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Seth GS Medical College and KEM Hospital, Mumbai 400012, India

Code Number: jp10052

The anti-convulsant effect of sodium valproate was discovered serendipitously in 1962 by Pierre Emymard who was working on the effect of khelline derivatives for his thesis. At that time, valproate was being used as a vehicle by two of his colleagues, H Meunier and Y Meunier to dissolve water insoluble compounds. Eymard in his experiments found that the vehicle control (valproate alone) produced significant anti-epileptic effect in rats. Meunier who used valproate to dissolve coumarin also found similar results in rabbits. Their findings were published in the French journal Therapie in 1963 and the first formulation of valproate "Depakine" was launched in France in 1967, 5 years later by Berthier Labs for whom Meunier and Meunier worked.

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