Martin continued to listen to Yvonne's gossipy news, which now included the Cambridge University scene, with affectionate amusement.
During January of the following year, as President Reagan was inaugurated four thousand miles away, a license to market Peptide 7 in Britain was granted by the Minister of Health. Two months later, approval for United States use of the drug was announced by FDA. Canada, as it often did, followed the FDA lead. In Britain, the drug was scheduled to go on sale in April, in the United States and Canada in June. But in March--before its marketing anywhere-an event occurred that confirmed earlier fears and placed in jeopardy, it seemed, the entire future of Peptide 7. It began with a telephone call to Felding-Roth's Harlow institute from a London newspaper, the Daily Mail. A reporter making the call sought to speak with Dr. Peat-Smith or Dr. Sastri. When informed that neither was available that morning, he left a message which a secretary typed out and placed on Martin's desk. It read:
The Mail has learned you are about to unveil a miracle drug which will rejuvenate people sexually, cause them to lose weight, and make the middle-aged and old feel young again. We will have a story in tomorrow's paper and would like a statement from your company as soon as possible today.
When Martin read the message it was a half hour before noon, and he reacted with shock and fear. Was some damn newspaper, concerned only with printing a sensational one-day story, about to lay in ruins all his work and dreams? His immediate impulse was to telephone Celia, and he did-at home. In Morristown it was 6:30 A.m., and she was in the shower. Martin waited impatiently while she dried and put on a robe. At the sound of Celia's voice, he relayed what had happened and read out the reporter's message. His tone conveyed his anguish. Celia was concerned and sympathetic, but also practical. "So the Peptide 7 sex thing is out in the open. I always thought it would happen.”
"Can we do anything to stop it?"
"Obviously not. The report has a basis of truth, so we can't deny it totally. Besides, no newspaper will give up that kind of story, once they have it.”
Martin, sounding unusually helpless, asked, "So what shall I do here?" She told him, "Call the reporter back and answer questions honestly, though be as brief as possible. Be sure to emphasize that the sexual results have been observed in animals only, which is a reason we are not recommending the drug for sexual use by humans. The same applies to use for weight loss.”
Celia added, "Maybe, that way, they'll run a short item which won't get much notice anywhere else.”
Martin said gloomily, "I doubt it.”
"So do 1. But try.”
Three days after Martin's call, Julian Hammond reported to Celia with a summary of media attention to Peptide 7. The public affairs vice president began, "It's as if that first British news story opened a floodgate.”
The Daily Mail had headed its report:
SCIENTIFIC BREAKTHROUGH Soon!-A New Miracle Medicine To Make You Sexy, Younger and Slim
What followed played up the acknowledged sexual effect of Peptide 7, but glossed over the fact that, so far, it had been officially recorded in animals only. The word "aphrodisiac," which Martin and others at Felding-Roth had dreaded, was used several times. Even worse, from the company's point of view, the newspaper had somehow learned about Mickey Yates and interviewed him. A photograph headed, "Thank you, Peptide 7!" showed the elderly Yates beaming after boasting of his revived sexual powers. Beside him, his wife, smiling demurely, had confirmed her husband's claim. Something else in the news report, not known previously by Felding-Roth officials,-was that several others among the Harlow Peptide 7 volunteers had experienced unusual sexual stimulus. They, too, were named and quoted. Celia's dim hope that the story might be confined to one newspaper proved merely a hope, and nothing more. Not only was the Mail's story picked up by the remainder of the British press and television, all wire news services flashed it overseas. In the United States, instant interest was aroused, with Peptide Ts sexual and anti-obesity effects being mentioned in most newspapers and discussed on TV.
From the moment the story broke in the United States, Felding-Roth's switchboard was swamped with calls from press, radio and TV seeking details about Peptide Ts release. Though reluctant to respond to what was felt to be a wave of harmful sensationalism, the information was given. There was no alternative. Few callers inquired about the true, anti-mental-aging purpose of the drug. Following the tide of media calls came a second one: questions from the public. Most concerned only the drug's sexual or weight loss properties, and callers were read a short statement to the effect that Peptide 7 was not recommended for such uses. Phone operators reported that the answer did not appear to satisfy. Some calls were obviously from cranks. Other callers were sexually explicit or obscene. As Bill Ingram commented, "Suddenly, everything we so carefully planned has been turned into a sideshow.” It was this circus effect that most worried Celia. Would doctors, she wondered, not wanting to be associated with something which already appeared disreputable, decide not to prescribe Peptide 7 at all? She consulted Andrew, who confirmed her fears.”I'm sorry to have to say this, but quite a few physicians will feel that way. Unfortunately, all the publicity suggests that Peptide 7 is in the same league with laetrile, ouzo and Spanish fly.”
Celia said unhappily, "You make me wish I hadn't asked.”
Thus, less than a month before what had been foreseen as a strong but dignified introduction of Peptide 7, Celia was weary, dismayed and apprehensive. In Britain, Martin was in deep despair.
"As it turned out," Celia was apt to reminisce much later, "we really did have problems----extremely serious ones--during the early months after Peptide Ts introduction. Among all of us in charge at Felding-Roth there were plenty of tense, anxious hours, biting of fingernails, and sleepless nights. Yet the strange thing was, the problems that happened were not the ones we expected.”
Then she would laugh and add, "What it all showed is that you can never be certain how people will react to anything.” The problems Celia referred to concerned supply. From the moment Peptide 7 was available-obtainable, with a doctor's prescription, from druggists-for months there was never enough to meet the amazing, unprecedented demand. Long lines formed in front of pharmacy counters, and when customers were turned away because supplies ran out, they would go to other drugstores and stand in lines there. A reason that was revealed later-this time quoting Bill Ingram -was that "the damn doctors and druggists were using the stuff themselves and cornering some of the rest for friends.”
The shortage, which for a while was desperate, occurred in Britain as well as the United States. Long-timers in the company had never known anything like it. It resulted in frantic phone calls between New Jersey, Ireland, Harlow, Puerto Rico, Chicago and Manchester-the last two where plastic containers were being made and finger pumps assembled. Puerto Rico in particular, said a Felding-Roth purchasing agent, was "always screaming for containers, which they filled and shipped as fast as they came in.”
Both the Irish and Puerto Rican plants were working around the clock, with extra shifts. At the same time, chartered jet aircraft flew on several occasions from Ireland to Puerto Rico, carrying the precious active Peptide 7 ingredient. It was Ingram who bore the brunt of that difficult time, overseeing all arrangements while, in his words, "We lived from hand to mouth, juggling what supplies we had, trying to keep the multitudes who demanded Peptide 7 as happy as we could.”
Then, looking back on those frantic days, he too would laugh, the anxiety long behind him, and say, "Bless everybody, though! All of our people pitched in, doing everything they could. Even those doctors and druggists, playing favorites, helped Peptide 7 become the golden success it is.”