Minnesota BioHistory

Welcome to "Minnesota BioHistory" a feature section that tells the story of the scientists,
institutions, political leaders, and significant events that shaped the biotechnology
and medical device industries in the state of Minnesota.

Tell us about Minnesota's BioHistory. If you are aware of a notable event, person,
organization/company or accomplishment that we should include,
please send e-mail: BioHistory@InfoResource.org

1848 -- American Association for the Advancement of Science founded.

American Association for the Advancement of Science founded in 1848 marked the emergence of a national scientific community in the United States, and was the first organization established to promote the development of science and engineering at the national level and to represent the interests of all its disciplines.

Today, the AAAS serves nearly 300 affiliated societies and academies of science and publishes the peer-reviewed general science journal Science. The non-profit AAAS is open to all and fulfills its mission to "advance science and serve society" through initiatives that include science policy, international programs, science education, and public understanding of science.

1851 -- University of Minnesota founded as a preparatory school.

In 1851, the University of Minnesota (UM) was founded as a preparatory school, but financial problems forced it's closure during the Civil War. In 1867, it reopened with the help of Minneapolis entrepreneur John Sargent Pillsbury, who later was a University regent, state senator, and governor who used his influence to establish the school through the Morrill Land-Grant Act, as Minnesota's land-grant university.

Today, the University of Minnesota, has four campuses, and is one of the most comprehensive universities in the U.S., and is a major research institution, with scholars and technology development of national and international reputation.

1859 -- Charles Darwin published "The Origin of Species."

In 1859, British naturalist Charles Darwin published "On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life" in which he postulated his theory of evolution that explained how the diverse of species on Earth evolved from a simple, singled-celled ancestor.

From 1831-1836, Darwin served as a naturalist aboard the H.M.S. Beagle -- a British science expedition around the world. In South America Darwin discovered fossils of extinct animals that were similar to modern species, and on the Galapagos Islands, located west of Equador, he noticed many variations of plants and animals of the same general type as those in South America. Throughout the expedition Darwin studied plants and animals and collected specimens for further study.

Upon his return to London, Darwin conducted thorough research of his notes and specimens, and out of his study grew several related theories: evolution did occur; evolutionary change was gradual, requiring thousands to millions of years; the primary mechanism for evolution was a process called natural selection; and the millions of species alive today arose from a single original life form through a branching process called "specialization."

Darwin's theory of evolutionary selection holds that variation within species occurs randomly and that the survival or extinction of each organism is determined by that organism's ability to adapt to its environment. Darwin's theory of evolution remains the foundation of modern biology.

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1865 -- Gregor Mendel, the father of modern genetics, presents his laws of heredity.

1887 -- Marine Hospital Service Hygienic Laboratory (National Institutes of Health) founded.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) traces its roots to 1887, when a one-room laboratory was created within the Marine Hospital Service (MHS), predecessor agency to the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS). The MHS was established in 1798 to provide for the medical care of merchant seamen -- charged by Congress with examining passengers on arriving ships for clinical signs of infectious diseases, such as cholera and yellow fever, to prevent epidemics.

During the 1870s and 1880s, scientists in Europe presented compelling evidence that microscopic organisms were the causes of several infectious diseases, and MHS officials closely followed these developments. In 1887, Joseph Kinyoun, a MHS physician trained in the new bacteriological methods, set up a one-room laboratory in the Marine Hospital at Stapleton, Staten Island, New York. Kinyoun called this facility a "laboratory of hygiene" in imitation of German facilities, and within a few months, he identified the cholera bacillus and used his Zeiss microscope to demonstrate it to his colleagues as confirmation of their clinical diagnoses.

The Biologics Control Act enacted in 1902 had major consequences for the Hygienic Laboratory. It charged the laboratory with regulating the production of vaccines and antitoxins, making it a regulatory agency four years before passage of the 1906 Pure Food and Drugs Act. The danger posed by biological products that had emerged from bacteriologic discoveries resulted from their production in animals and their administration by injection. In 1901, thirteen children in St. Louis died after receiving diphtheria antitoxin contaminated with tetanus spores. This tragedy spurred Congress to pass the Biologics Control Act, and between 1903-1907 standards were established and licenses issued to pharmaceutical firms for making smallpox and rabies vaccines, diphtheria and tetanus antitoxins, and various other antibacterial antisera. (In 1972, responsibility for regulation of biologics was transferred to the Food and Drug Administration). (Photo: courtesy of the NIH Almanac)

In 1912 MHS was reorganized, renamed the Public Health Service (PHS) and authorized to conduct research into noncontagious diseases and into the pollution of streams and lakes in the U.S. During World War I, the PHS attended primarily to sanitation of areas around military bases in the U.S., and when the 1918 influenza pandemic struck Washington, physicians from the laboratory were pressed into service treating patients in the District of Columbia because so many local doctors had fallen ill. In 1930, the Ransdell Act changed the name of the Hygienic Laboratory to the National Institute of Health (NIH) and authorized the establishment of fellowships for research into basic biological and medical problems. The roots of this act extended to 1918, when chemists who had worked with the Chemical Warfare Service in World War I sought to establish an institute in the private sector to apply fundamental knowledge in chemistry to problems of medicine. In 1937, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) was created with sponsorship from every Senator in Congress, and was authorized to award grants to nonfederal scientists for research on cancer and to fund fellowships at NCI for young researchers.

During World War II, the NIH focused almost entirely on war-related problems. At the close of the war, PHS leaders guided through Congress the 1944 Public Health Service Act, which defined the shape of medical research in the post-war world. Two provisions were especially important: 1) In 1946 the NCI grants program was expanded to the entire NIH, and the program grew from just over $4 million in 1947, to more than $100 million in 1957, and to $1 billion in 1974. The entire NIH budget expanded from $8 million in 1947 to more than $1 billion in 1966, now fondly remembered as "the golden years" of NIH expansion. Accompanying growth in the grants program was the proliferation of new categorical institutes, and from 1946-1949, voluntary health organizations moved Congress to create institutes for research on mental health, dental diseases, and heart disease. In 1948, language in the National Heart Act made the name of the umbrella organization the National Institutes of Health. 2) The 1944 PHS Act authorized NIH to conduct clinical research, and after the war Congress provided funding to build a research hospital, now called the Warren Grant Magnuson Clinical Center on the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland. The Center which opened in 1953 with 540 beds was designed to bring research laboratories into close proximity with hospital wards in order to promote productive collaboration between laboratory scientists and clinicians. (Photo: National Archives and Records Administration photograph, courtesy of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Library, Hyde Park, New York)

The NIH today, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the primary Federal agency for conducting and supporting medical research and is composed of 27 Institutes and Centers, providing leadership and financial support to researchers in every state and throughout the world.

1902 -- Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Co. founded.

Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Co. (3M) founded by five businessmen in Two Harbors, MN to mine mineral deposits for grinding-wheel abrasives. The venture was unsuccessful and the company relocated to nearby Duluth to develop sandpaper products. In the early 1920s, 3M produced world's first waterproof sandpaper which reduced airborne dusts during automobile manufacturing, and in 1925 lab assistant Richard G. Drew invented masking tape a first step toward diversification and the first of many Scotch® pressure-sensitive tapes.

In the 1940s and 1950s, 3M expanded into new markets including reflective sheeting for highway markings, magnetic sound recording tape, filament adhesive tape, offset printing plates, dry-silver microfilm, carbonless papers, overhead projection systems, and a rapidly growing new health care business of medical and dental products. In the 1970s and 1980s 3M expanded into pharmaceuticals, radiology and energy control, and the well known Post-it® Notes.

Today, 3M Health Care, the largest of seven major 3M businesses, is dedicated to improving the practice, delivery and outcome of care in medical, dental, pharmaceutical, health information and personal care markets. 3M Drug Delivery Systems Division, part of the 3M Health Care family, is a global leader in the development of inhalation and transdermal technologies. As the creator of the first metered-dose inhaler, the division's history spans more than 50 years of medical innovation as a true pioneer of these technologies in both components as well as total drug delivery systems.

1902 -- Archer-Daniels-Midland Company founded.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (ADM) was founded in Minnespolis as a linseed crushing business in 1902 by George A. Archer and John W. Daniels. In 1923, Archer-Daniels Linseed Company acquired Midland Linseed Products Company, and the Archer-Daniels-Midland Company was formed. In 1969, ADM moved its corporate headquarters and research laboratory to Decatur, Illinois.

Today, ADM is a world leader in agricultural processing and one of the world's largest processors of soybeans, corn, wheat and cocoa. ADM is also a leader in the production of soy meal and oil, ethanol, corn sweeteners, flour, and value-added food and feed ingredients.

1914 -- The Mayo Clinic established.

The Mayo Clinic evolved gradually from the frontier practice of Dr. William Worrall Mayo and his two sons, William J. and Charles H. Mayo. Mayo Foundation is a charitable, not-for-profit organization based in Rochester, Minnesota. Its mission is to provide the best care to every patient every day through integrated clinical practice, education and research.

More than five million people have been treated at Mayo Clinic since its frontier founding. Today it encompasses three clinics and four hospitals in three states, employing more than 25,000 physicians, scientists, nurses and allied health workers.

1918 -- Spanish Influenza Pandemic.

It is estimated that between 25 and 40 million people died from the the influenza outbreak that began in 1918, swept across America in a week and around the world in three months. In all, between 500,000 and 700,000 Americans --civilians and soldiers-- died from the influenza, more than were lost in World War I, II, and the Korean and Viet Nam wars combined.

Latest Findings: In September 2004, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded a five-year, $12.5 million grant to five institutions that will collaborate to study genes constructed from 1918 flu-virus particles salvaged from the bodies of World War I soldiers and the exhumed Brevig Mission, Alaska resident. The Institutions include the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Washington, D.C.; Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York; Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and the University of Washington. The ultimate goal is to use knowledge gained from the study to develop vaccines, influenza medications and diagnostic tests to prevent a similar influenza outbreak.

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1921 -- Minnesota Cooperative Creameries Association (Land O'Lakes) founded.

In 1921, representatives from 320 Minnesota co-op creameries met in St. Paul to establish the Minnesota Cooperative Creameries Association (Land O'Lakes) to help the creameries boost the price they receive for their butter by improving quality and by strengthening the creameries' marketing efforts. In 1924, a contest was held to find a name for the new, sweet cream butter being marketed by the Association and "Land O'Lakes" was selected as the winning name.

In 1926, the popularity of the Land O'Lakes name prompted the Association to change its name to Land O'Lakes Creameries, Inc. Today, Land O'Lakes extends its reach from coast-to-coast and to more than 50 countries worldwide.

1933 -- Thomas Hunt Morgan awarded Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his chromosome theory of heredity.

1947 -- Transistor invented at AT&T's Bell Laboratories.

The transistor, the invention that marked the dawn of the information age, was invented by John Bardeen, William Shockley and Walter Brattain at AT&T's Bell Laboratories. Bardeen, Shockley and Brattain were awarded the 1956 Nobel Prize in Physics for their discovery of the transistor effect.

Transistors have become an invisible technology that is part of almost every electronic device. Every major information age innovation was made possible by the transistor and its application can be found all around us. (Photos: © The Nobel Foundation)

1949 -- Medtronic founded.

In 1949, Earl E. Bakken and and his brother-in-law Palmer Hermundslie form Medtronic to repair electronic hospital equipment, based on Earl's part-time work at Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis. Earl, an electrical engineering graduate student at the University of Minnesota left his graduate studies, Palmer quit his job with a local lumber firm, and together they moved into 600-square-foot garage in northeast Minneapolis. In the early 1950s, the company's revenues came from sales of other manufacturers' products, but researchers frequent requests for modifed equipment and new specialiazed testing devices resulted in the company building custom-made products including external defibrillators, forceps, an animal respirator, a cardiac rate monitor, and a physiologic stimulator.

In the mid-1950s, Bakken's acquaintance with Dr. C. Walton Lillehei, a pioneer in open heart surgery at the University of Minnesota Medical School, lead to the development a new kind of wearable, external, battery-powered pacemaker -- the beginning of a new era in the therapeutic application of electrical technology for patients around the world. In 1960, Medtronic acquired exclusive rights to produce and market the new Chardack-Greatbatch implantable pulse generator from Drs. William Chardack and Andrew Gage at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Buffalo, New York, and at the same time significantly expanded sales offices throughout the United States and Canada.

Today, Medtronic is a global leader in medical technology, alleviating pain, restoring health and extending life for millions of people around the world with its Headquarters in Minneapolis and regional headquarters in Switzerland and Japan, the company employs approximately 32,000 people worldwide.

1953 -- Double helix structure of DNA revealed.

The double helix structure of DNA, the hereditary molecule is revealed by two scientists, James D. Watson and Francis Crick. This is one of the key discoveries of the century. Watson and Crick shared the 1962 Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine with Maurice Wilkins for their discoveries concerning the molecular structure of nuclear acids and its significance for information transfer in living material.

Rosalind Franklin, whose work contributed to the discovery, died before this date and the rules do not allow a Nobel Prize to be awarded posthumously. (Photos: © The Nobel Foundation)

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1958 -- Integrated circuit invented.

1961 -- President John F. Kennedy expands U.S. Space Program

1968 -- The world's first successful bone-marrow transplant completed at the University of Minnesota Hospital

1969 -- Man walks on the moon.

An important benefit of the Apollo Lunar Program and other NASA programs is the ever-growing pipeline of technology that improves human and veterinary healthcare diagnostics and therapeutics.

1969 -- Victor McKusick publishes "Mendelian Inheritance in Man".

Victor McKusick, widely acknowledged as the father of medical genetics, spent his career studying the genetic basis of diseases and disorders with the belief that such an understanding could lead to new methods of diagnosis and treatment. He studied, identified, and mapped genes responsible for inherited conditions such as Marfan syndrome and dwarfism (specifically in Amish communities). In 1969, he proposed the idea of mapping the human genome, over 30 years before the Human Genome Project was established.

McKusick, a graduate of Johns Hopkins (M.D. 1946), spent his entire career there and founded the Division of Medical Genetics in 1957, the first research center and clinic of its kind. In 1969 he published the 1st edition of his book "Mendelian Inheritance of Man", one of the most comprehensive collections of inherited disease genes. In 2002, McKusick received the highest scientific honor in the U.S., the National Medal of Science.

1970 -- Norman Borlaug awarded Nobel Peace Prize.

Norman Borlaug, University of Minnesota graduate, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for leading the efforts to improve wheat varieties and introduce them around the world. (Photo: © The Nobel Foundation)

1971 -- NASDAQ Stock Market founded.

Nasdaq, founded February 8, 1971, is now the largest U.S. electronic stock market. With approximately 3,300 companies, it lists more companies and, on average, trades more shares per day than any other U.S. market. NASDAQ is home to companies that are leaders across all areas of business including technology, retail, communications, financial services, transportation, media, biotechnology, medical device, and pharmaceutical.

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1973 -- Recombinant DNA perfected.

1974 -- Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).

John N. Erlenborn, the ranking Republican on the House Committee, was responsible for bringing the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to a floor vote, and is one of the ERISA’s "Founding Fathers." Together with Senator Jacob Javits (R-NY), Senator Pete Williams (D-NJ) and Congressman John Dent (D-PA), Erlenborn crafted provisions and participated in negotiations that were instrumental to the enactment of ERISA which was - and remains - the single most important legislation governing employee benefit plans in the United States providing an important source of financial investment for the stock market. (Photos: Jacob Javits and Pete Williams courtesy U.S. Senate Historical Office).

1975 -- Monoclonal antibodies produced.

In 1975, Georges Köhler and César Milstein, showed how monoclonal antibodies can be generated by isolating individual fused myeloma cells.

The 1984 Nobel Laureate in Medicine was awarded jointly to: Niels Jerne, Georges Köhler and César Milstein for theories concerning the specificity in development and control of the immune system and the discovery of the principle for production of monoclonal antibodies. (Photos: © The Nobel Foundation)

1976 -- Genentech, founder of the biotechnology industry, established.

In 1976, Genentech was founded by venture capitalist Robert Swanson and biochemist Dr. Herbert Boyer. In the early 1970s, Boyer and geneticist Stanley Cohen at Stanford University pioneered recombinant DNA technology. Excited by the breakthrough, Swanson called Boyer who agreed to give the young entrepreneur 10 minutes of his time. Swanson's enthusiasm for the technology resulted in a three hour meeting and at its conclusion, Genentech was born.

Within a few short years Swanson and Boyer invented a new industry - biotechnology. In 1980, Genentech issued its Initial Public Offering (IPO) and raised $35 million with an offering that jumped from $35 a share to a high of $88 after less than an hour on the market. The event was one of the largest stock run-ups ever, and that event set the stage for future biotechnolgy industry offerings.

Genentech was initially broadly focused in three areas including food processing, industrial chemicals, and human health care. In 1982, Eli Lilly & Co. which had acquired worldwide rights to Genenetch's recombinant human insulin (1978) received FDA approval to market the product -- the first biotechnology therapeutic to reach the marketplace.

Beginning in 1983, Genentech became solely focused on human therapeutics and diagnostics, and in 1985, Genentech received approval from FDA to market its first product, Protropin® (somatrem for injection) growth hormone for children with growth hormone deficiency — the first recombinant pharmaceutical product to be manufactured and marketed by a biotechnology company. In 1990, Genentech and Roche Holding Ltd. of Basel, Switzerland completed a $2.1 billion merger. Today, Genentech is among the world's leading biotech companies with multiple protein-based products on the market for serious or life-threatening medical conditions.

1977 -- First human gene cloned.

Walter Gilbert induced bacteria to synthesize insulin and interferon, and Frederick Sanger published the complete sequence of phage FX174. The 1980 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry was awarded jointly to Frederick Sanger and Walter Gilbert for "for their contributions concerning the determination of base sequences in nucleic acids, and to Paul Berg for his fundamental studies of the biochemistry of nucleic acids, with particular regard to recombinant-DNA. (Photos: © The Nobel Foundation)

1979 -- Molecular Genetics (MGI Pharma) founded.

Molecular Genetics (MGI Pharma) was founded in Minnespolis and became one of the earliest biotechnology companies in the new industry. The company was initially focused in animal health and agricultural biotechnology.

In 1983, Molecular Genetics issued its Initial Public Offering, and in 1988 the company shifted its strategic focus to human pharmaceuticals. In 1990, the company changed its name to MGI Pharma to reflect its focus on pharmaceuticals. Today, MGI Pharma is an oncology and acute care focused biopharmaceutical company that acquires, develops and commercializes proprietary products that address the unmet needs of patients.

1979 -- The first use of artificial blood in a patient conducted at the University of Minnesota Hospital.

1980 -- U.S. Supreme Court ruled man-made organism patentable.

1980 -- Bayh-Dole Act provides for university technology transfer.

1984 -- Medical Alley® founded.

Medical Alley®, a 501(c)(6) nonprofit trade association, founded to support Minnesota’s health care industry.

1990 -- Human Genome Project established.

The U.S. Human Genome Project was established -- a 13-year effort coordinated by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health. The project, originally planned to last 15 years, was expected to be completed by 2003 due to rapid technological advances.

1991 -- MNBIO founded.

The MNBIO is a non-profit trade organization that strives to promote the steady growth of Minnesota's life sciences industry through partnerships of industry, financial resources, academia, and government.

1993 -- Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) founded.

Biotechnology Industry Organization is the world's largest organization to serve and represent the biotechnology industry. BIO's leadership and service-oriented guidance have helped advance the industry and bring the benefits of biotechnology to people everywhere.

1993 -- Kary B. Mullis awarded Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

2001 -- Human Genome Project draft sequence published.

2003 -- Peter Agre awarded Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

2005 -- Medical Alley® and MNBIO merged.

Medical Alley®, representing the medical device industry, and MNBIO representing the biotechnology industry merged to provide a more focused effort in supporting the human health, agricultural and industrial biosciences in Minnesota.

Other Resources

Other State & Province BioHistories

Other Life Science History Resources

Tell us about Minnesota's BioHistory. If you are aware of a notable event, person,
organization/company or accomplishment that we should include,
please e-mail: BioHistory@InfoResource.org