BERLIN: The firm that invented thalidomide, a drug that caused birth defects in thousands of babies, done a deliberate disinformation campaign when experts initial spotted feasible significant adverse effects, a report commissioned by the German claim of North-Rhine Westphalia (NRW) said regard Friday.
Thalidomide, made by the German firm Gruenenthal, was marketed internationally to pregnant women in the late 1950s and very early 1960s as a treatment for early morning sickness.
It was sold under the name Contergan in Germany, and elsewhere as Distaval.
The drug harmed about 5,000 individuals in Germany alone, of whom about 2,400 are still alive.
Many victims were born with passing up arms or legs, malformed limbs or significant nerve damage.
“We deeply regret the thalidomide tragedy and it will certainly always be section of our corporate history,” said Frank Schoenrock, a spokesman for Gruenenthal, including that the firm joined a constructive and continual dialogue along with the victims.
He said the business would certainly evaluate the study, commissioned by the NRW good health ministry, and can not make a lot more detailed comments regard its components at the moment.
The report, developed by the University of Muenster, said that as soon as experts started drawing links in between thalidomide and nerve damage, the manufacturer gave out intentionally false write-up and hushed up know-how it had concerning the drug´s side effects.
The study said the firm had additionally used delaying tactics and threats of potential claims for loss versus the claim to preserve the drug, which obtained higher sales, regard the market for as long as possible.
Reuters was unable to independently confirm its findings.
“The manufacturer can have actually spared a great deal of individuals considerably of suffering if it had removed Contergan from the market after many indicators that there were harmful adverse effects,” NRW good health Minister Barbara Steffens said.
The report said that also after the drug was pulled from the market, authorities were overwhelmed by the situation.
It said they had inconvenience clarifying the effects of thalidomide, identifying the variety of individuals afflicted and banning Contergan.
A spokeswoman for the NRW good health ministry said the legal framework for banning the drug did not exist at the time.
Niklas Lenhard-Schramm, author of the study, said that at the time, drug manufacturers were accountable for ensuring the safety of medications, unlike the claim licensing procedure in position now.
