Penicillin: the magic bullet

In 1945 the Nobel Prize for medicine was awarded to three men - Alexander Fleming, Ernst Chain, and the Australian, Howard Florey - as the inventors of penicillin, the “magic bullet” of medicine. This doumentary tells the true story behind the discovery of penicillin, the wonder drug of the twentieth century, which would change the face of modern civilisation by providing a cure for medical scourges such as pneumonia, meningitis, rheumatic fever, septicaemia and venereal diseases. Using dramatic re-enactments, “Penicillin : the magic bullet” charts the work of the Howard Florey’s team (including that of the overlooked Norman Heatley) as they struggled towards this medical breakthrough. Narrated by Martin Jacobs.