B. Marcus Case,

On November 1, 1954, Mary A. Marcus filed a lawsuit for 5 million dollars (later 20 million) in damages against Dr. Selman Waksman, Rutgers Research Foundation and Merck & Co. claiming her patent for the Treatment of Psoriasis # 2,099,696 (filed on Oct. 10, 1934, granted Nov. 23, 1937) was infringed upon by their patent for Streptomycin and Process of Preparation # 2,443,485 (issued Sept. 21, 1948). Marcus claimed that she had had contact with Dr. Waksman over twenty years earlier, at which time she claimed to have shared her discoveries with him and given him cultures related to her treatment of psoriasis. It was her belief that the bacteria from which Streptomycin is made was discovered by her and existed in these cultures.

Marcus' patent describes the method for extracting an organic substance from an active Psoriatic lesion and creating a vaccine from this. She claimed treatment with her vaccine cured the condition. Psoriasis is a disease of unknown origin (believed to be auto-immune in nature) and frequently goes into periods of remission for no understandable reason. There was no evidence that her method of treatment was ever used. She claimed to have successfully cured patients. This is unlikely since she was not a medical doctor and would not have been permitted to treat any patients. Ms. Marcus was not permitted to stay in the Medical School of the University of Pennsylvania, and took a Masters in Science (in Pathology and Bacteriology) instead (June, 17, 1925), the highest degree she ever received.

It appears that Marcus' claim of any relationship between her patent and the Streptomycin patent was without foundation. Ms. Marcus, unfortunately, suffered from mental illness, and had been hospitalized as early as May 12, 1929. Although she introduced herself as a doctor, she had no medical degree. It is possible that her claim was the result of her illness, or that she was exploited by others who hoped Waksman would settle rather than go to trial, as he had done in the Schatz case.

The case was dismissed by Judge Thomas F. Meaney on March 26, 1956, after the defense petitioned for dismissal on the grounds that Ms. Marcus willfully refused to appear for a pre-trial deposition before the defense attorneys for more than year. Persons figuring prominently in the Marcus Case were Russell E. Watson, Esq. and A. Dudley Watson, Esq., who were the primary lawyers for Waksman et al. Dr. Herbert A. Lechevalier, Assistant Professor of Microbiology at Rutgers, was the primary scientific investigator for Waksman and also was responsible for contacting potential witnesses (expert scientists/doctors and people who had worked with Ms. Marcus). Nathan Reibel, Esq. represented Ms. Marcus. The trustees of the Rutgers Research Foundation were: Dr. Lewis Webster Jones, President, New Brunswick, NJ; Russell E. Watson, vice-president, Belle Mead, N.J.; Dr. Robert C. Clothier, vice-president, New Brunswick, N.J.; Dr. Robert A. Cooke, New York, NY; and Mahlon G. Milliken, Wilmington, DE.

The general scope of the records pertaining to the Marcus case ranges from 1914-1957, with the bulk of material being generated between 1954-1956. Items dating prior to 1954, in general, were collected as research to support the case. The records contain all of the legal papers associated with the case, for example: official summonses, subpoenas, notices of motions, records of the court actions, and lists of questions asked of Waksman. Also included is correspondence the people involved in the case. Other documents contain lists of questions about Marcus (e.g., her life, work, and scientific knowledge) the defense (Waksman et al.) needed to prepare. There is a biographical sketch of Marcus' life, photostats of her publications and a copy of her patent, the Treatment of Psoriasis. There are also some letters regarding misinformation printed in articles about the Marcus case, statements Wakman made and the preliminary work on them, some responses to questions asked by Marcus' lawyers and additional correspondence. There are also documents about the history of treatments for Psoriasis, which seems to be a complete history of the treatments of the disease (until 1956), even containing articles in foreign languages. Another folder holds anonymous letters, written by "M.P.," who sought to encourage Waksman to settle the Marcus suit out of court. M.P. agreed that Marcus was mentally ill, but claimed to fear that she might win the case and that this would cause great embarrassment to a prominent Jewish person (Waksman). M.P. claimed to believe that this would be very harmful to the Jewish community as a whole, and urged him for this reason to settle the suit. The records also contain newspaper clippings and miscellaneous items There are also older letters between Waksman and Dr. Löhnis, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Wash. D.C. The two scientists did not see eye to eye. Waksman probably placed them with the Marcus file because Dr. Löhnis is mentioned in Waksman's statement pertaining to his summons.