Before Alice Ball, chaulmoogra oil was used to treat leprosy, but when applied topically or administered orally, the results were poor and the side effects severe.
Ball developed a protocol to isolate active components, convert fatty acids into water-soluble ethyl esters, and enable safe and effective injection. The method achieved worldwide success and remained the primary available medical treatment until the advent of antibiotics in the 1940s.
However, Ball never published her results, and it was other researchers who made them known, often omitting to mention her name. A flagrant example of the Matilda Effect.
→ READ MORE"The ideal treatment was an injection without side effects, she invented it."