On Jun. 12, 1933, a bill was introduced in the U.S. Senate by New York Senator Royal S. Copeland to overhaul the 1906 drug law. But congressional action stalled.

Revised legislation wasn’t passed until 107 people died from a poisonous ingredient in Elixir Sulfanilamide. The S.E. Massengill Co. of Bristol, Tenn., had been marketing the product, which was the chemical relative of antifreeze now used in automobiles.