Edmund Kornfeld

Edmund Carl Kornfeld (February 24, 1919 – June 22, 2012) was an American organic chemist who devoted his life to the research of new drugs. His leading discovery, with the help of a team, was an antibiotic that was later named vancomycin.

Early life and education Edmund Carl Kornfeld was born on February 24, 1919, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Elsie and Julius Kornfeld. He received his AB from Temple University in 1940 and his PhD in chemistry from Harvard University in 1944.

Career In 1946, Kornfeld joined Eli Lilly and Company in Indianapolis, Indiana, where most of his discoveries took place.

A breakthrough in the project occurred on June 18, 1953, when researcher Marvin Hoehn used paper chromatography to establish a unique "fingerprint" for the substance, then designated as "compound 05865". This analysis proved the compound was a radically new, water-soluble antibiotic, distinct from common rediscoveries like chloromycetin. and the Latin word vanesco, meaning "to vanish or disappear". Eli Lilly was looking for a treatment for anxiety, depression, psychosomatic diseases, and addiction.

Kornfeld's research also resulted in the discovery of pergolide as a medication for Parkinson's disease.

Published books Condensation of heterocyclic bases with acetylene dicarboxylic ester. Publisher: Harvard University, 1945.

The Total Synthesis of Lysergic Acid. Edmund C. Kornfeld, E. J. Fornefeld, G. Bruce Kline, Marjorie J. Mann, Dwight E. Morrison, Reuben G. Jones, R. B. Woodward.