Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2013

Keywords

Clinitest, Clinistix, Miles Laboratories, Recognition, Invention

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

http://dx.doi.org/10.3727/194982413X13608676060691

Abstract

This paper examines the process of development of Clinitest pills that could be used in clinics or physicians' offices for rapid, convenient analysis of glucose and other components of clinical interest. It was invented by Dr. Jonas Kamlet. We were able to follow the process because his papers are accessible (as The Kamlet Laboratories Collection) at the University of South Florida Library. The accessibility of these papers gives an opportunity to see steps in the development of a successful product from conception to patent and commercialization. Kamlet, a consulting chemist, took the invention to Miles Laboratories of Elkhart, Indiana, in the early 1940s. Ultimately, it was replaced by a Miles invention, Clinistix, which had the same purpose. While Dr. Kamlet earned money for his two-person laboratory, contemporary accounts give credit to the Director of Miles Laboratories, Walter Ames Compton, M.D., for the invention of Clinitest. Correspondence between Kamlet Laboratories and Miles Laboratories (1940‐1945) was reviewed, with no written evidence of hurt feelings or acrimony discovered.

Was this content written or created while at USF?

Yes

Citation / Publisher Attribution

Technology and Innovation, v. 15, no. 1, p. 81-86.

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Chemistry Commons

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