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September 28, 2025: Kylie Barkley, Graduate Student Intern from IU Indianapolis, commemorates the 97th anniversary of the discovery of penicillin, by sharing an object from our Pharmaceuticals Collection.
Object: Bicillin (Benzathine Penicillin G in Aqueous Suspension) Multiple-Dose Vial
Produced by: Wyeth Laboratories Inc., Philadelphia, PA
Significance: September 28th marks the 97th anniversary of the discovery of penicillin, which has saved millions of lives. Penicillin is an antibiotic used to treat bacterial infections, including strep throat, meningitis, syphilis, ear infections, and pneumonia. On September 28, 1928, physician and scientist Alexander Fleming observed that a mold from the Penicillium genus had developed on a Petri dish containing staphylococcal bacteria. He noticed that the mold destroyed the bacteria and later discovered that it worked against other diseases like scarlet fever and meningitis. The scientific community initially ignored Fleming’s findings; however, renewed interest in penicillin led to the mass production of the antibiotic in the 1940s. Fleming and his colleagues Howard Florey and Ernst Chain won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1945.
