Sera-therapy, exile and Franco's regime. The survival strategy of the Ravetllat-Pla Institute in postwar Spain.

The aim of this paper is to analyse the scientific and commercial survival strategy of the Ravetllat-Pla Institute after the Spanish Civil War. Founded in 1923 by Ramon Pla (1880-1956) and Joaquim Ravetllat (1872-1923), it produced two sera: 'Hemo-antitoxin' and the 'Ravetllat-Pla serum'. When the Civil War ended and Ramon Pla was forced into exile, management of this laboratory was taken over by his daughter, Núia Pla Monseny (1918- 2011) who had to deal with an extremely difficult economic, political and commercial situation. In this paper, I analyse the means by which the Institute survived. These involved the Institute's ability to construct different political symbols from 'Hemo-antitoxin'. I study how Franco's repression influenced this survival strategy and Ramon Pla's role in exile. I also analyse the part played in this scientific and commercial process by the Institute's scientific and commercial network in Chile.

Deaths due to absence of an affordable antitoxin for plant poisoning.

There is a severe shortage of affordable antivenoms and antitoxins in the developing world. An anti-digoxin antitoxin for oleander poisoning was introduced in Sri Lanka in July, 2001, but because of its cost, stocks ran out in July, 2002. We looked at the effect of its introduction and withdrawal on case fatality, and determined its cost-effectiveness. The antitoxin strikingly reduced the case fatality; its absence resulted in a three-fold rise in deaths. At the present price of US2650 dollars per course, every life saved cost 10209 dollars and every life year cost 248 dollars. Reduction of the antitoxin's price to 400 dollars would reduce costs to 1137 dollars per life gained; a further reduction to 103 dollars would save money for every life gained. Treatments for poisoning and envenoming should be included in the present campaign to increase availability of affordable treatments in the developing world.