MERCOL

R. Hunt and A. Seidell, Washington, D. C., report the result of an examination of a preparation called Howell’s Mercol, manufactured by H. B. Howell & Co., Ltd., New Orleans, and claimed to be a 1 per cent. solution of mercuric iodid in a non-irritating neutral menstruum, and recommended for hypodermic use in the treatment of syphilis. Their examination indicates, as they say, “that although the manufacturers of Mercol may have used a mercuric iodid in its preparation, they have not succeeded in obtaining a 1 per cent. solution of this compound in their ‘non-irritating neutral menstruum.’ It is furthermore evident that the sample examined as above outlined contains none, or at most only traces, of biniodid of mercury.” It is stating it mildly to say that a manufacturer is careless who claims to make an efficient preparation of what is almost a specific for one of the most serious of diseases but which contains practically none of the essential active ingredient.​—(Abstracted from The Journal A. M. A., Jan. 16, 1909.)

The Component Parts and the Finished Product

After the appearance of the first article, a physician wrote stating he had seen Mercol manufactured, following the process in detail and had himself weighed out a sufficient quantity of mercuric iodid to produce a 1 per cent. solution. He protested that the firm “had no desire to foist on the medical profession or the public a fraud.” With his letter he sent a sample of the particular batch of Mercol which he had seen manufactured. This sample was analyzed with the same care and thoroughness that the previous sample had been, and the practical absence of mercuric iodid was again demonstrated. While The Journal does not question the honesty and good faith of either the manufacturers or the physician, it maintains that claims for remedial agent should be based on the finished product rather than on the component parts used in its manufacture. Without attempting to explain what has become of the mercuric iodid, it insists that the important fact, and the one that vitally concerns both patient and physician, is that the finished product fails to contain it. If the manufacturer has made an honest mistake in supposing he could produce a 1 per cent. solution of mercuric iodid in liquid petrolatum, he will doubtless see that the mistake is corrected. If, on the other hand, he is governed by commercial considerations only, the mis­rep­re­sen­ta­tion will probably be perpetuated.​—(From The Journal A. M. A., May 15, 1909.)