Today, thalidomide is being used to treat cancer and some other diseases. "Patients taking thalidomide are carefully counseled, ordered to use two forms of birth control, and strongly advised about the risks of pregnancy while on the drug. Even with these precautions, misuse does occur, and some pregnancies develop; thus, a new generation of people born with thalidomide-related impairments is developing. They have fewer opportunities for seeking compensation, as their parents knowingly took the drug and often signed documentation releasing their legal rights to limit liability for physicians, drugmakers and others involved in the process of getting the drug to the patient."
by s.e. smith, care2.com, 8 December 2013
When it was introduced to the market for the treatment of nausea in pregnancy in the late 1950s, thalidomide was hailed as a miracle. Within just a few short years, it had turned into a nightmare, a drug that caused thousands of birth defects worldwide and caused untold pain and suffering for parents and children. By the early 1960s, the backlash was so intense that the drug had been forced off the market, and it ushered in a new age of drug reforms and compensation settlements that changed the face of drug development forever.
This week, we were reminded that the legacy of thalidomide is still active today, as many of the drug’s victims are in their 50s and 60s and alive today. In Australia and New Zealand, an $81 million settlement to compensate some of these victims was just negotiated, illustrating that the full extent of the harm done by the drug hasn’t been addressed yet. Read more »