Phospho-Energon
{{Short description|Swedish drug}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2023}}
Phospho-Energon, often just called Energon, was a "miracle medicine" produced and distributed in Sweden. With the incomes generated by the Energon sales, the emerging Swedish pharmaceutical company Pharmacia (founded in 1911 out of the Elgen pharmacy in central Stockholm) was able to establish itself in the market and begin pharmaceutical research and the production of other medicines, eventually becoming a major actor in the Swedish and international pharmaceutical sectors.
The main ingredients of Energon were calf's brain, sugar, and milk.{{cite web |url=http://www.lakemedelsvarlden.se/zino.aspx?articleID=180 |title="Vad är egentligen ett läkemedel?" - Läkemedelsvärlden - Oberoende om läkemedel |accessdate=2008-08-06 |url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100821134854/http://www.lakemedelsvarlden.se/zino.aspx?articleID=180 |archivedate=2010-08-21 }}{{cite web |url=http://www.lakemedelsvarlden.se/zino.aspx?articleID=545 |title=Nyponextrakt, tuggummi och fusioner - Läkemedelsvärlden - Oberoende om läkemedel |accessdate=2008-08-06 |url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100826225541/http://www.lakemedelsvarlden.se/zino.aspx?articleID=545 |archivedate=2010-08-26 }} Initially, the drug was sold as a powder to be mixed with liquid, but later pills were produced.
The product was said to have a "safe and rapid effect against general debility, lack of appetite, nervous tension, exhaustion, and sleeping problems". The drug was also used against blood deficiency and disturbances in the neural system.{{Cite web |url=http://www.ub.gu.se/kvinn/digtid/04/1913/10/rfkv1913_10_01_06.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2008-08-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720105940/http://www.ub.gu.se/kvinn/digtid/04/1913/10/rfkv1913_10_01_06.pdf |archive-date=2011-07-20 |url-status=dead }} Moreover, the advertisement of Pharmacia claimed that consumption of Energon would relieve the user of fear of traffic, through the soothing of the nerves.{{Cite web |url=http://www.nau.se/NA-Nytt%202005%20-%20final.htm |title=Archived copy |access-date=2008-08-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070612201421/http://www.nau.se/NA-Nytt%202005%20-%20final.htm |archive-date=2007-06-12 |url-status=dead }}
In early advertisements, Pharmacia claimed that the drug was endorsed by Swedish physicians. Moreover, the company stressed that its production was conducted under the scrutiny of professor {{ill|Karl Albert Vesterberg|sv|Karl Albert Vesterberg}}.
The permit to sell the Phospho-Energon pills in Swedish pharmacies lapsed in 1936.{{Cite web|url=http://www.lakemedelsverket.se/upload/foretag/humanlakemedel/avregistrerade/1900_1939.pdf|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722070845/http://www.lakemedelsverket.se/upload/foretag/humanlakemedel/avregistrerade/1900_1939.pdf|url-status=dead|title=Läkemedelsverket: Upphörande av godkännande för försäljning av läkemedelsprodukter mellan 1900-01-01 och 1939-12-31|archivedate=22 July 2011}} The permits to sell four variations of the Phospho-Energon pills (with arsenic, iron and kola extracts) in Swedish pharmacies lapsed in 1943.{{Cite web|url=http://www.lakemedelsverket.se/upload/foretag/humanlakemedel/avregistrerade/1940_1959.pdf|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722070931/http://www.lakemedelsverket.se/upload/foretag/humanlakemedel/avregistrerade/1940_1959.pdf|url-status=dead|title=Läkemedelsverket: Upphörande av godkännande för försäljning av läkemedelsprodukter mellan 1940-01-01 och 1959-12-31|archivedate=22 July 2011}}
The preparation Phospho-Energon with kola contained the following ingredients:{{Cite web|title=Phospho-energon med kolaextrakt - FASS Vårdpersonal|url=https://www.fass.se/LIF/product?userType=0&nplId=AP_00000885|access-date=2021-01-10|website=www.fass.se|archive-date=8 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308115723/http://www.fass.se/LIF/product?userType=0&nplId=AP_00000885|url-status=live}}
Dried cow brain; Dried kola extract; Ferrous tartrate; Calcium pantothenate; Choline; Copper sulphate; Licorice; Nicotinamide; Pyridoxine; Riboflavin; Thiamine