Farewell to a prolific pharmacist inventor

History suggests that pharmacists can be inventive, and details of a number of British pharmacist inventors can be found in a document on the museum section of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s website. As the document shows, pharmacists in Britain have tended to invent things that are practical rather than frivolous. For some reason, they are particularly noteworthy for culinary and household products.

Culinary inventions by pharmacists include Alfred Bird’s eggless custard powder, launched in 1837, and his baking powder, invented in 1843. The first non-clogging table salt was produced by George Duncan Bowie in 1891 and improved by another pharmacist, George Weddell, three years later. Perhaps the most famous pharmacist inventors in Britain are John Lea and William Perrins, who brought their Worcestershire sauce to the market in 1837.

Among household products invented by British pharmacists are John Walker’s friction match in 1827, Robert Spear Hudson’s dry soap powder in 1837 and Joseph Goddard’s non-abrasive silver polish in 1839. And, in 1878, Joseph Swan patented his incandescent light bulb, beating Thomas Edison’s better known US patent by a year.

I was reminded of all these inventors recently when I learnt about the death of a New Zealand pharmacist, Colin Murdoch, a prolific inventor whose ideas revolutionised medical and veterinary science.

He patented 46 inventions, including a plastic disposable hypodermic syringe, the tranquilliser gun and a child-resistant bottle cap.

Murdoch was born in 1929. Despite suffering from dyslexia, he was able to follow his father into pharmacy. Early in his career he became concerned about the transmission of infection through the repeated use of inadequately sterilised syringes.

He went to the New Zealand department of health with an idea for prefilled, disposable plastic syringes for vaccines, but short-sighted officials rejected the proposal. However, in 1956 he was granted a patent and went on to produce many injection products, which were soon being sold worldwide.

From childhood, Murdoch had an interest in wildlife and he realised that wild mammals would be easier to catch if they could be immobilised by a tranquilliser administered from a distance. In 1959, using his experience of repairing and modifying weapons during military service, he developed a gun that used compressed gas to fire a tranquillising dart. At first, the only drugs available were curare and nicotine alkaloids, both often fatal to animals, so he worked with drug companies to develop safer products.

Murdoch also discovered that stress and shock could be reduced by administering a balanced electrolyte solution to the animal immediately after immobilisation. This practice has since become routine during surgery on infant and elderly human patients.

In 1966, he filed patents for several home security devices and combined them into a silent burglar and fire alarm that automatically telephoned the local police station, fire station or both.

Murdoch won many awards, including one for a child-resistant bottle closure, but he never became rich. He refused to initiate legal action against those who infringed his patents, taking the view that if the products benefited people or animals it would be wrong to sue.