Chu Futang’s Research on “Placental Globulin”: Invention, Clinical Application, and Local Adaptation

In the first half of the 20th century, measles was highly prevalent among children worldwide in the absence of effective vaccines. During his studies in the United States, Zhu Futang, a pediatrician at Peking Union Medical College Hospital, collaborated with American pediatrician Charles McKhann of Boston Children’s Hospital. Using human placenta as the raw material and half-saturated ammonium sulfate as the precipitating agent, they successfully extracted a high-titer anti-measles antibody preparation—termed “placental globulin”—and demonstrated its efficacy in both the treatment and prevention of measles. Based on Zhu’s original papers and related archival materials, this article systematically reconstructs the development of this therapy, aiming to evaluate the academic value of placental globulin therapy from the perspective of the history of science and to further enrich research on the history of pediatrics in China.