Botulinum toxin
In 1895 (seventy-five years later), Émile van Ermengem, professor of bacteriology and a student of Robert Koch, correctly described "Clostridium botulinum" as the bacterial source of the toxin. Thirty-four attendees at a funeral were poisoned by eating partially salted ham, an extract of which was found to cause botulism-like paralysis in laboratory animals. Van Ermengem isolated and grew the bacterium, and described its toxin, which was later purified by P Tessmer Snipe and Hermann Sommer.
Incapacitating agent
By 1958 a search of the Tropics for venomous animal species in order to isolate and synthesize their toxins was prioritized. For example, snake venoms were studied and The College of Medical Evangelists was under contract to isolate puffer fish poison. The New England Institute for Medical Research and Fort Detrick were studying the properties and biological activity of the Botulinum toxin molecule. The U.S. Army Chemical Warfare Laboratories were isolating shellfish toxin and trying to obtain its structure.