Thalidomide and fda history wiki

Birth defects linked to thalidomide use

This article is about the thalidomide scandal and birth defect crisis. For the drug itself, see thalidomide.

Medical condition

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the use of thalidomide in 46 countries was prescribed to women who were pregnant or who subsequently became pregnant, and consequently resulted in the "biggest anthropogenic medical disaster ever," with more than 10,000 children born with a range of severe deformities, such as phocomelia, as well as thousands of miscarriages.^[1][2]

Thalidomide was introduced in 1953 as a tranquilizer, and was later marketed by the German pharmaceutical company Chemie Grünenthal under the trade nameContergan as a medication for anxiety, trouble sleeping, tension, and morning sickness.^[3][4] It was introduced as a sedative and medication for morning sickness with