71-YEAR-OLD PENICILLIN MOLD WORTH $35,000

71-YEAR-OLD PENICILLIN MOLD WORTH $35,000

WASHINGTON (Wireless Flash) -- Most people wouldn't pay a cent for a hunk of old mold -- unless it was the original penicillin mold discovered in 1928. A petri dish containing the old mold is valued at more than $35,000 and is currently on display at the Smithsonian International Gallery in Washington, D.C. The penicillin mold -- considered to be the Holy Grail of the pharmaceutical industry -- was accidentally discovered 71 years ago by bacteriologist Alexander Fleming. Fleming's signature even appears on the moldy petri dish, which was donated to the Smithsonian by the Pfizer pharmaceutical company.

CONTACT: Meghan Harrington, (Pfizer) ****; NYC; (212) 733-4753; Melissa Machado (Smithsonian); Washington, DC; (202) 786-3185