Asthmatic physician Roger Altounyan (19221987) was born in Syria and trained in medicine in England. Altounyan became convinced that the Middle Eastern folk remedy khellin worked and could be the source of a new synthetic asthma drug. Altounyan tested hundreds of compounds found in khellin on himself. Taking each one, he exposed himself to an extract of guinea pig hair to which he was allergic, and tested his lung function with a spirometer. Over the course of several months in 1965, Altounyan established that sodium cromoglycate, which blocks allergic responses, was the active ingredient in khellin. Starting in 1967, Fisons Ltd. manufactured and sold it as Intal®.
Roger Altounyan's first report on the khellin extract project includes diagrams of some of the molecules he thought might prevent ortreat asthma attacks.
Report No. 18, January 20, 1961
Courtesy Mrs. Hella Altounyan
and Family,
Cheshire, England