Gordon Alles

Who was Gordon Alles?

Gordon A. Alles, was an American chemist and pharmacologist who did much research on the isolation and properties of insulin for the treatment of diabetics. He is also credited with discovering and publishing the psychological effects of amphetamine, and for methylenedioxyamphetamine. He is the first person to have prepared amphetamine sulfate, although not the amphetamine molecule. Alles first reported the physiological properties amphetamine as a synthetic analog of ephedrine, and therefore received credit for this discovery. He enjoyed large royalties from Smith, Kline & French because he sold his patent rights for amphetamine to the company and it enjoyed large sales. Several popular products sold by SKF contained amphetamine including Benzedrine pills and inhalers, Dexedrine pills, and Dexamyl tablets. Counterfeit drugs appeared, trying to violate Alles' 'weak' patent, e.g., "Profetamine".