Fifty years ago, the tragedy of the Thalidomide birth-defect crisis captured the attention of the world: Sold over-the-counter as a tranquilizer in some countries, Thalidomide was hailed as a wonder drug when it was released in the late 1950s. During its four years on the market, Thalidomide was also prescribed to millions of pregnant women as an antidote to morning sickness. Its maker, a small German company, marketed it aggressively throughout the world.
Richardson-Merrell was licensed to distribute the drug in the United States. It distributed more than 2.5 million Thalidomide tablets to more than 1,000 doctors as part of a clinical trial. The doctors prescribed Thalidomide to nearly 20,000 patients, several hundred of whom were pregnant women. Fortunately, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration never approved Thalidomide for general use. Although more than 10,000 children around the world were estimated to have been born with deformities caused by Thalidomide use, the damage in the United States was small by comparison. Yet at least 17 children born in the United States suffered serious deformities. This column focuses on the most recent fallout from the Thalidomide tragedy: litigation in the United States on behalf of those victims.
