Daniel Bovet

Bovet was married to Filomena Nitti. She was the sister of the bacteriologist F. Nitti. Excepting for this, not much is known about Bovet’s personal life.

Bovet breathed his last on April 8, 1992 in Rome, Italy.

Daniel Bovet was born on March 23, 1907 at Neuchâtel, Switzerland to Pierre Bovet and Amy Babut. His father was a Professor of Pedagogy in the University of Geneva.

Young Bovet completed his preliminary education at Geneva. After completing his early studies, he enrolled at the University of Geneva. He graduated from the same in the year 1927.

Following his education, Bovet started his career as an assistant in physiology to Professor F Batelli. Following this, he worked with Professor Guyenot. The latter also helped him prepare the thesis on zoology and comparative anatomy which gained him a PhD in the year 1929.

From 1929, Bovet worked at the Pasteur Institute in Paris under the guidance of Professor E Roux. Bovet’s first position at the institute was that of an assistant. Regularly, Bovet came into contact with his department’s director, Professor Ernest Fourneau. Fourneau cast an important influence over Bovet’s future researches.

In 1937, Bovet discovered the first antihistamine substance, which was effective in treating allergic reactions. The substance counter attacked the effect of histamine. The discovery led to its application and further research on the substance. Meanwhile in 1939, after ten years of serving at the Institute, Bovet became head of the therapeutic chemistry laboratory.

In 1942, the first antihistamine drug for human usage was successfully discovered. Two years later, in 1944, Bovet’s own discovery of pyrilamine was produced as a drug.

In 1947, Bovet accepted the invitation by Professor Domenico Marotta, Director of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità in Rome, to organize a Laboratory of Therapeutic Chemistry. He ended his association with the Pasteur Institute and instead moved to Rome. Therein, he became the Chief of the Laboratory of Therapeutic Chemistry of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome. He also took up Italian citizenship.

Bovet’s most important contribution came at the Pasteur Institute in Paris. He discovered drugs that blocked the actions of specific neurotransmitters. In 1937, he discovered antihistamines that blocked the neurotransmitter histamine. The discovery was used in allergy medication.

In 1947, while in Rome, Bovet researched on a cost-effective dependable variant of curare, an expensive drug that was used to relax muscles during surgery. Through his research, he produced hundreds of synthetic alternatives, two of which gallamine and succinylcholine were variedly used.