Prothoracicotropic hormone
Prothoracicotropic hormone (PTTH) was the first insect hormone to be discovered. It was originally described simply as "brain hormone" by early workers such as Stefan Kopeć (1922) and Vincent Wigglesworth (1934), who realized that ligation of the head of immature insects could prevent molting or pupation of the body region excluded from the head if the ligation was performed before a critical age in the lifestage was reached. After a certain point the ligation had no effect and both sections of the insect would molt or pupate. However, implantation of a conspecific brain to a sessile ligated abdomen or an abdomen under diapause would induce molting or pupation. Thus, the brain was originally thought to be the source of the hormone that induces molting in insects.
George Rosenkranz
Attracting young chemists such as Carl Djerassi, Luis E. Miramontes and Alejandro Zaffaroni was critical to Syntex's first big success. The Mayo clinic had reported that the steroid hormone cortisone was an effective anti-inflammatory, capable of relieving painful rheumatoid arthritis symptoms. However, as described by Djerassi, "Until 1951, the only source of cortisone was through an extraordinarily complex process of 36 different chemical transformations starting from animal bile acids." Several prominent groups of international scientists were attempting to be the first to synthesize cortisone. Rosenkranz's team started working in two shifts, and their dedication paid off. In 1951, Rosenkranz, Djerassi, and their fellow researchers submitted a paper on the synthesis of cortisone, edging out reports from Harvard and Merck by a matter of weeks.
Having successfully synthesized cortisone, the researchers at Syntex continued to work on the synthesis of progesterone. A female sex hormone, progesterone was used to help pregnant women avoid miscarriages, and to treat infertility. Five months later, under the direction of Rosenkranz and Carl Djerassi, the last step of the synthesis of norethisterone (norethindrone) was successfully completed by Luis E. Miramontes, and Syntex applied for a patent, which was granted as US patent 2,744,122 on May 1, 1956. Syntex initially reached an agreement with the American company Parke-Davis to market norethisterone as "Norlutin" for the treatment of gynecological disorders, which was approved by the FDA in 1957. Parke-Davis however refused to develop Syntex's norethisterone as a contraceptive over concerns about a possible Catholic boycott of its other products. This delay placed Syntex at a disadvantage, but by 1962, they had partnered with Johnson & Johnson's Ortho division to introduce the birth control pill "Ortho-Novum", which used Syntex's norethisterone. In March 1964, the FDA approved Syntex's version of "Ortho-Novum" with the brand name "Norinyl" (norethisterone 2 mg + mestranol 100 µg). In March 1964, the FDA also approved Parke-Davis's version of the German company Schering's oral contraceptive "Anovlar" with the brand name "Norlestrin" (norethisterone acetate 2.5 mg + ethinylestradiol 50 µg).