### q6 Botox is botulism microdose > It is certainly not impossible to produce botulinum toxin on an industrial scale, but it was not until the late 1960s that Ed Schantz, a chemist who had worked on purifying the toxin at a US military research institute, was asked by an ophthalmologist Alan Scott if he could supply a sample. Scott wanted to see if the unusual flaccid paralysis effects could be harnessed medically, just as Kerner had suggested years before. He used tiny, injected doses to help alleviate the symptoms of patients with crossed eyes or twitching eyelids and found it to be incredibly effective. In 1989, purified botulinum toxin was approved as a drug under the brand name Oculinum. Scott’s company was purchased by pharmaceutical manufacturer Allergan in 1991, who renamed the drug Botox. - [View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01fn6s8syb95gy2d2zxpe8mtjv) - [[Botulism is the World's Deadliest Thing by Anthony Warner#q6 Botox is botulism microdose|View in Vault]]