Word: shamanism
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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What set this particular test apart, however, was the ensuing debate--one that scientists at Shaman Pharmaceuticals, the cutting-edge company conducting the research, will never forget. At issue was whether or not to throw a live crab into the extract, just as native healers do. "We're thinking, How important could that be, for God's sake?" says Lisa Conte, president and CEO of Shaman. "But wouldn't you know, of the three extracts, the one with the crab in it was the only one that showed activity." Turns out that a component in a crab's shell...
...important lesson in the corporate philosophy of the aptly named firm. Shaman is a South San Francisco company founded in 1989 on the concept that traditional healing methods of shamans, or indigenous medicine men, can serve as the basis for modern-day drug development...
Giant pharmaceutical firms have long prospected the rain forests, screening randomly selected plants for potential products. But under Conte's direction, Shaman became one of the first companies to rely on the ancestral wisdom of native cultures. "It was a light bulb," Conte says. "Why not leverage out this knowledge of how plants have been used for thousands of years to get something that's more likely to be effective and safe...
Costume designer Gabriel Berry also combines the mysterious with the familiar by juxtaposing the Milanese court's clothing, based on the clothing of seventeenth-century European aristocrats, with Prospero's shaman costume. Ariel and Caliban, dressed and body-painted like native islanders, also contrast effectively with the conservatively outfitted Milanese. The butler Stephano (Charles Levin) and the jester Trinculo (Thomas Derrah) who boast more colorful costumes, go through several changes-including some cross-dressing-after they discover a glistering wardrobe...
...good terms with the governments of these countries, several companies have signed agreements to share any profits they make from local biological resources. Merck, for example, worked out a deal with Costa Rica that lets its investigators screen that nation's flora and fauna for potential new drugs, and Shaman Pharmaceuticals has similar agreements with a dozen countries...