In 1988, Gertrude B. Elion shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the ‘discoveries of important principles for drug treatment. Gertrude Elion’s research revolutionized both the development of new pharmaceuticals and the field of medicine in general. Previously, pharmaceuticals had primarily been produced from natural substances.

During the 1950s, Elion, together with George Hitchings, developed a systematic method for producing drugs based on knowledge of biochemistry and diseases. One of the first drugs produced by the pair was for leukemia and helped many children with the disease to survive.