[e-drug] New information on the 1960s thalidomide case

e-drug
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E-DRUG: New information on the 1960s thalidomide case
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Dear E-drug Colleagues,

Below is new information on how Grunenthal (in Germany) knew of
thalidomide's harmful effects on foetuses before the medicine was banned
in 1961. This evidence dismantles the long-held belief that birth
defects were an "unforeseeable tragedy" and that Grunenthal's
"actions were consistent with the state of scientific knowledge and
prevailing standards of the 1950s".

As the article suggests, this was a conscious effort to cover-up essential information for 50 years. The article includes two links to court documents and important correspondence leading up to the 1961 ban. Thalidomide victims may see justice but Grunenthal is vociferously defending lawsuits.

regards

João

Dr. João L. Carapinha
BPharm, MM P&DM, PhD (Law and Public Policy)
www.twitter.com/joaocarapinha

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E-DRUG: New information on the 1960s thalidomide case (2)
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dear E-druggers,

It is valuable to publish and circulate this story, because companies have behaved in very similar ways now; but I don't think it's a hidden or covered up story.

For example, Hilts, in his widely read book, Protecting America's Health: The FDA, Business and One Hundred Years of Regulation (Knopf 2003) has a passage on it, and Chapter 2 of The Risks of Prescription Drugs (Columbia Univ Press 2010) recounts it together with examples of the wider pattern.

In recent years, companies have feigned surprise at reports of serious toxic effects, when we later learn through court cases that they knew about them. Then they dismiss them as aberrations, or problems caused by other factors and reaffirm how safe and effective the drug is. It's a real concern that some companies do not respond the other way, being very quick to protect their customers and quickly mobilize to look into the merits of the reports.

I will be looking into these matters further as a new Fellow at the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University this coming year.

regards

Don

Donald W. Light
Cell: 609-216-0071
Professor, UDMNJ-SOM
Visiting Researcher, Center for Migration & Development, Princeton University
Network Fellow, Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics, Harvard University
Senior Fellow, Center for Bioethics, University of Pennsylvania
dlight@Princeton.EDU