Broxil tablets

Aluminium canister with some contents from 20 250 mg Broxil tablets, labelled with the name, Dr Cole, by Beecham Research Laboratories, expiry date 31 December 1982

Broxil was the brand name one of the first semi-synthetic penicillins called phenethicillin, developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s by Beechams. Available from 1959 onwards, Broxil could be taken in tablet form. As it is acid resistant, it is not destroyed in the stomach but can instead survive long enough to reach the blood stream.

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.