Packaging for amoxicillin

Empty box and instruction leaflet for 15 capsules of 500mg Amoxicillin by Athlone Laboratories Limited

Amoxicillin was one of the semi-synthetic penicillins developed in the late 1960s by Beechams, building on their work on ampicillin. Effective against a broad range of bacteria including E.coli, streptoccocci, amoxicillin was better absorbed by the body in tablet form and more effective in treating childhood ailments. It was first commercially available in 1972 and was prescribed world-wide.

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.