Polio vaccine changed the world


The late Jonas Salk gave that historic reply when asked who owns the patent for the first polio vaccine, announced to be safe and effective April 12, 1955.

A lot has happened in science in the 50 years since Salk's announcement, and not just in technology. Science is now big business. That's immediately obvious to anyone visiting Torrey Pines Mesa, where in 1960 Salk established the biological research institute that bears his name.

Torrey Pines Mesa is generally acknowledged to contain the densest concentration of bioscience companies and research institutes in the world. The Salk Institute didn't create it alone —— UC San Diego and The Scripps Research Institute dwarf the Salk in the number of researchers. But it's fair to say Salk's immense personal prestige accelerated the process.

Salk attracted world-class scientists such as the late Francis Crick, co-discoverer of DNA's function as carrier of the genetic code, and Leslie Orgel, a chemist who has made major discoveries about the evolution of early life.

But none of Salk's contributions to San Diego County and science as a whole would have been possible were it not for that eventful April 12. The fearful disease that paralyzed thousands of people here and abroad was conquered. Photos of children kept alive in "iron lungs" turned from a constant reminder of tragedy to a sad page of history.

The Salk killed-virus vaccine was later mostly superseded by the live-virus vaccine developed by Salk's bitter rival, Albert Sabin. That vaccine is superior in that it is given orally, instead of by injection, and because those receiving it can spread their immunity. But no one forgot that Salk's team first broke polio's spell of fear, and Salk's vaccine is generally regarded as safer.

As a figure of world renown, Salk used his fame to launch a new venture in what was then a small Navy and tourist town. (Incidentally, Salk had a major ally in Charles Dail, then-mayor of San Diego, who had had polio).

Today, Salk's attitude toward patents seems quaint. Patents are of overwhelming importance in biotechnology; indeed "the Salk" and any other research institutes worthy of note have technology transfer programs to license out patents to companies that then commercialize them.

Research first

But naive as Salk's dismissal of patents seems to modern biotech, his insistence on basic research as the foundation of medical advances has been proven absolutely correct. Direct attempts to cure diseases with targeted research often don't work until more fundamental discoveries have laid the groundwork.

Ed Callaway, a Salk Institute neuroscience researcher, announced one of those fundamental discoveries in February. The team he led found that the brain's neurons are wired up in a peculiar way, so that certain of these thinking cells are more directly connected to relatively distant cells than they are to their immediate neighbors. One neuron may be firing under the influence of other members of its "clique," while the cells next door are out of the loop.

This finding has implications for studying the brain, Callaway said: electrodes positioned in the brain may record the activity of 100 nearby neurons, most of which aren't connected to one another —— much like listening in to 100 different phone calls and trying to make sense of them.

Callaway, who arrived in 1995, said he was attracted to the institute by what's called "the Salk way." To Callaway, this means dedication to the common goal of advancing biological research.

"The recognition (the institute receives) comes from reality," Callaway said. "It was truly built around the idea that we're going to create the best possible environment for doing research. "Everything flows from that single goal in mind."

The Salk way is not just restricted to scientists, Callaway said; employees who handle the Salk's physical plant, its computers and other services all feel the sense of mission.

A gift returned manyfold

The city of San Diego also experienced that sense of mission when its voters approved giving the Salk Institute its prime real estate. That oceanfront land would have been very valuable for hotels or other tourist uses. By foregoing the quick and easy path to money, San Diego County got back much more.

Perhaps Salk-style altruism isn't so quaint after all.

Vaccines, long considered rather boring, have undergone a resurgence of late. To learn more about the Salk Institute and the polio vaccine's 50th anniversary, go to (www.salk.edu). Sabin's legacy can be found at the Albert B. Sabin Vaccine Institute (www.sabin.org).

Contact staff writer Bradley J. Fikes at bfikes@nctimes.com or (760) 739-6641.
