1901年的首届诺贝尔生理学或医学奖被授予埃米尔·冯·贝林（Emil von Behring），“他的血清疗法，尤其在预防白喉方面的应用为医学科学领域开辟了新的道路；从此，医生们在面对病痛和死亡时有了制胜的武器（for his work on serum therapy, especially its application against diphtheria, by which he has opened a new road in the domain of medical science and thereby placed in the hands of the physician a victorious weapon against illness and deaths）。”