The Hunt for a Vaccine

Jun 08 2023

The Hunt for a Vaccine Podcast artwork

‘The Hunt for a Vaccine’ is a fascinating story of a major breakthrough in Danish medicine. A breakthrough that saw the light of day exactly one hundred years ago – and which still affects the lives of millions of people around the world.

The story follows visionary doctors and pharmacists - from Denmark to Chicago and all the way to Shanghai - and tells the story of how it is rarely easy to be ahead of one’s time. Both then and now but probably in the future as well.

This podcast is published by ALK and produced and developed by Rakkerpak Productions.

Narrator: Nadia Nouamani
Written by Mads Gordon Ladekarl
Sound editing and sound mixing: René Slott
Music: Christian Schødts-Sørensen
Editor: Tor Arnbjørn

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The Mysterious Illness (1:5)

Jun 08 2023 35 mins

At the beginning of the previous century we knew very little about allergy and allergic asthma. In Denmark, where this story takes its beginning, it is believed that an allergic asthma attack in a child is the result of being spoilt. The “cure” is to cut the parents off from the child - especially the mother, who is usually the one raising the child at the time. But one doctor

Resistance (2:5)

Jun 08 2023 32 mins

A Danish doctor and a Danish pharmacist make a huge discovery. But they are met with resistance and a lack of recognition by the Danish medical society. Episode two is about trying to make an impact even though you seem to be the only one who actually believes that children with allergies are treatable. Finally we take a deeper look into what it’s like to be a doctor during World

The Breakthrough (3:5)

Jun 08 2023 35 mins

The two visionary developers of Denmark's first allergen extract, Kaj Hedemann Baagøe and Peter Barfod, have two problems: The first is simple. They start to get old. The second is a head-scratcher and something they can’t seem to solve. So they need to pass on the torch to someone else. And here the young and ambitious biochemist Henning Løwenstein enters the story. Together w

Out of the Backroom (4:5)

Jun 08 2023 33 mins

The huge discovery that Henning Løwenstein and his colleague made in the 1970’s catapulted ALK out of the niches and onto the global market. But now the Danish pharmaceutical company wants to go one step further. It wants to develop a cure that’s less time consuming, less painful and more effective. All for the sake of the patients. Does that sound easy? Well, it isn’t and t

One Day, Everyone Will Be Treatable (5:5)

Jun 08 2023 36 mins

Even though many extraordinary doctors and pharmacists have made some important discoveries over the last 100 years, there are still a lot of patients who have a special kind of allergy, where the cure is not quite there yet. But what if it is only a matter of time? A lot of codes have been cracked, but now a new generation of scientists and researchers set out on a new quest for a

Teaser

Jun 01 2023 1 mins

This is a teaser for the upcoming podcast 'The Hunt for a Vaccine'.