Timeline

·       1953: Thalidomide drug is first synthesized in Germany by Chemie Grünenthal.

Thalidomide biochemical synthesis (Steffen, 2013)

1954: Chemie Grünenthal acquires a 20-year patent for Thalidomide. Clinical trials promptly begin and Thalidomide is shown to have an inhibitory effect on morning sickness.

1956: A child born without ears is born, becoming the first recorded victim to thalidomide’s teratogenic effects. The father, an employee of Chemie Grünenthal, had given samples of thalidomide to his wife during her pregnancy.

1957: Thalidomide is launched as a treatment for insomnia and morning sickness under the commercial name Contergan.

Contergan packaging (Steinsplitter, 2013)

1961: Thalidomide’s teratogenic effects are brought to attention of the German authority by German paediatrician Widukind Lenz. Lenz reported that the influx in birth defects was correlated with thalidomide use in pregnant mothers. This prompts the withdrawal of Thalidomide from the German market. Shortly after, Australian doctor William McBride noted an increase in deformed babies in mothers taking thalidomide in leading medical journal, the Lancet. These findings, along with pressure from public and press, prompt Grünenthal to withdraw thalidomide from the market in Germany Britain and Australia.

1962: The immediate fallout from the thalidomide scandal prompts the US senate to pass the Kefauver Harris Amendment. The imposes multiple requirements of drug manufacturers including a requirement for disclosure of side effects as well as proof of effectiveness and safety.

1968: A criminal trial charging Grünenthal officials with negligent homicide and injury begins in Germany. The trial eventually reaches a compensation settlement for the affected families. Distillers, the UK manufacturer, also reaches a compensation settlement for the affected families.

1970: The German government adds to the victim’s compensation but passes a law to protect Grünenthal from further prosecution.

1972: The UK Sunday publishes the “Our Thalidomide Children, A Cause for National shame” front page story, beginning a campaign for an increase in compensation for those affected by thalidomide. This saw Distillers increase their compensation amount from 3.25 million to 32.5 million pounds.

1998: The Food and Drug Administration approves (FDA) Thalidomide to be redistributed as a leprosy treatment under the name Thalidomid. The drug was to be distributed under tightly controlled conditions.

2006: Thalidomide is approved by the FDA for treatment of multiple myeloma.

2008: Thalidomide is approved for treatment of multiple myeloma by the European Medical Agency.

2009: The Brazilian court orders the Government to compensate 360 thalidomide survivors approximately 100,000 in US dollars. Thalidomide had remained in the Brazilian market since physicians used it to treat patients with severe leprosy. Due to poor methods of control, some of these patients were pregnant at the time of treatment.

2012: The Grünenthal Group, releases a statement that it regrets the consequences of its drug.

2013: The Victorian supreme court orders Distillers to pay 100 Australian thalidomide survivors 89 million Australian dollars.

2014: In Spain, a court ruling for Grünenthal to pay 35 million Euros to 22 victims was overturned as the case had expired the “statute of limitations”

References

McBride, W. G. (1961). Thalidomide and congenital abnormalities. The Lancet, 278(7216), 1358.

Perri III, A. J., & Hsu, S. (2003). A review of thalidomide's history and current dermatological applications. Dermatology online journal, 9(3).

Jeyaratnum, E., & Petrova, S. (2015, December 7). Key events in the history of thalidomide. Retrieved fromhttp://theconversation.com/timeline-key-events-in-the-history-of-thalidomide-50970

Kim, J. H., & Scialli, A. R. (2011). Thalidomide: the tragedy of birth defects and the effective treatment of disease. Toxicological Sciences, 122(1), 1-6.

Lenz, W. (1988). A short history of thalidomide embryopathy. Teratology,38(3), 203-215.

Lenz, W., & Knapp, K. (1962). Foetal malformations due to thalidomide. InProblems of Birth Defects (pp. 200-206). Springer Netherlands.


Steinsplitter (2013) Contergan package Retribed Retrieved 25 October, 2016, from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Contergan_package.jpg 

Steffen, N. (2013). Synthesis of Thalidomide. Retrieved 25 October, 2016, from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thalidomide_synthesis_01.svg

Thalidomide scandal: 60-year timeline. (2012 September 01) The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com

Thalidomide: timeline of a scandal. (2012, September 01) The Telegraph. Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/