G.D. Searle approached Dr. Harry Waisman, Biochemist, Professor of Pediatrics, Director of the University of Wisconsin’s Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Memorial Laboratory of Mental Retardation Research and a respected expert in phenylalanine toxicity, to conduct a study of the effects of aspartame on primates.

Seven infant monkeys were given aspartame with milk. One died after 300 days. Five others (out of seven total) had grand mal seizures. The actual results were hidden from the FDA when G.D. Searle submitted its initial applications. G.D. Searle denied knowledge of or involvement with the initiation, design or performance of the study.

The study was initiated on January 15, 1970 and was terminated on or about April 25, 1971. Dr. Waisman died unexpectedly in March, 1971.

Aspartame – History of Getting FDA Approval, Arizona Center for Advanced Medicine, June 26, 2013

In association with Harry Harlow and the UW Primate Laboratory, Waisman conducted groundbreaking research on phenylketonuria (PKU). Waisman’s research centered chiefly on this hereditary disease, in which an inborn metabolic error results in an accumulation of the amino acid phenylalanine and its derivatives, causing developmental disabilities. When detected early enough by a simple test, PKU can be treated effectively with a low-phenylalanine diet. Waisman was an advocate for PKU testing during legislative battles in the 1960s.

Prior to his work, Waisman was involved in studies related to cancer and leukemia in children. He co-authored a book with Conrad A. Elvehjem, a fellow biochemist and the former president of UW-Madison.

Waisman was a member of numerous professional and honorary societies and was awarded many national honors for his pediatrics work. He was one of the driving forces in the establishment of a multidisciplinary center at UW-Madison dedicated to the study of human development and developmental disabilities. He died unexpectedly during surgery in 1971, two years before the Waisman Center opened.

About Harry Waisman, University of Wisconsin–Madison Harry A. Waisman Memorial Lecture