Molecular model of clavulanic acid

Molecular model of clavulanic acid, based on X-ray crystallography data of anhydrous sodium clavulanate supplied by A G Brown, SmithKline Beecham to T J King, University of Nottingham on 10 April 1977, built by Martin Cole, Surrey, 1977-1980

In 1957, the team at Beecham Research Laboratories discovered that penicillin grown from mould has 6-aminopenicillanic acid. By tweaking its chemical structure, scientists created medicines to treat a wider range of bacterial infections, with fewer side effects. These are known as semi-synthetic penicillins.

Martin Cole was a microbiologist, whose career at Beecham Research Laboratories focused on the hope of developing and using semi-synthetic penicillins, including cloxacillin and amoxicillin. He led the team which first discovered and named olivanic acids and clavulanic acid and then combined the latter with amoxicillin, to produce co-amoxiclav, brand name Augmentin.