I first synthesized it in 1912 for Merck. At the time, Merck was interested in developing substances that stopped abnormal bleeding. Merck wanted to evade an existing patent, held by
Bayer, for one such compound:
hydrastinine. At the behest of my superiors I developed a preparation of a hydrastinine
analogue, methylhydrastinine. MDMA was an
intermediate compound in the synthesis of methylhydrastinine, and Merck was not interested in its properties at the time. On 24 December 1912, Merck filed two patent applications that described the synthesis of MDMA and its subsequent conversion to methylhydrastinine.