The rise and fall of the British Drug Houses, Ltd.

Steroid research at BDH began in earnest in 1946-1948, when Hartley and Petrow joined the company. With the need to find new progestational agents to replace ethisterone and progesterone, the company began work. They were the first to discover the vital importance of 6-methylation in enhancing the hormonal effects of steroid hormones. Their progestational studies led them to work on antifertility agents and the development of ovulation inhibitors, the mini-pill, and preliminary studies on the postcoital pill. Their search for new steroids additionally resulted in synthesis for biological evaluation of new corticoids, anabolic agents, estrogens, and mineralocorticoids. In 1968 the company, then known as The BDH Group Ltd., was incorporated into the Glaxo Group and company research terminated.