Pertussis "Topagen" Soluble Antigen

5cc vial of Pertussis "Topagen" Soluble Antigen "made from Pertussis bacillus (phase 1) representing the soluable antigenic fraction of 20,000 million organisms per cc." In the 1930s and 1940s, Topagen was used intranasally in the treatment of whooping cough (pertussis) and was used as a whooping cough vaccine.

This object was part of an exhibit on the manufacture and use of biological vaccines for the treatment of smallpox, respiratory infections, influenza, measles, and scarlet fever. Under the direction of the Smithsonian’s curator of medicine, the pharmaceutical company, Sharp & Dohme, designed and produced the exhibit which was installed at the Smithsonian in September 1947. The company became a major U.S. producer of biological products including many vaccines, serums, and antitoxins, after acquiring H. K. Mulford & Company in 1929. The Mulford Company was a pioneer in the commercial development of biologicals in the United States beginning with the production of a diphtheria antitoxin in the mid-1890s.

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