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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 8, 1962)
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 8. 1962 MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE. MEDFORD. OREGON evelopment of Thalidomide in German laboratory Trace Editor's note: Following it lh. iirii of thr dis patches on ihalidomide-it's development, its delayad-ac-lion eff.cls, and of th. taps being lak.n to ( guard againii hidden effecti of drugs. By PAUL R. ALLERUP London -flJPD- In the spot less, busy laboratories of Chemie Grunenthal in the Rhincland city of Stolberg one day in 1953, there was a rus tle of excitement. There was every indication the German scientists had . found somcthing-a tranquiliz ing drug virtually free of any ol the acute toxic effects so common to barbiturates. If the idication was borne out by tests, here would be a remarkable new sedative. It could be taken with no after effects of groggincss, or nau sea. It could be a sure sleep Inducer. 11 was called thalidomide, a contraction of phtaltmidoglu tarmide, its scientific name. Chemie Grunenthal, or Grunenthal Chemicals, one of the largest chemical firms in Germany, tested the drug for 3'i years on rats, mice, guinea pigs, rabbits and cats. Passed Every Trial In Grunenthal's own labor atories, the new drug passed every trial with an "A" mark. The checking and further study were turned over to an independent research clinic. Grunenthal was satisfied but required confirmation. The clinic's verdict: "The prepar ation is compatible, it is ex cellent." As required by Ger man law. the government-licensed clinic issued a certifi cate approving the drug for public sale. Grunenthal named it "Contergan," the Federal Health Bureau regis tered the product-and in 1957 it was placed on the general market to be sold without pre scription. Contergan found quick ac ceptance from the public. Doc tors recommended it as a sleeping pill, or general seda tive. Users awoke refreshed, with no morning-after head ache or bad taste in the mouth. Doctors found that highly dis turbed patients were calmed by the drug. And another important suc cess for Contergan was dis covered. It proved a boon to women in the early stages of pregnancy by casing the dread "morning sickness." Sales boomed. Meantime word of Hie new "wonder tranquillizer" had reached British chemists. In Britain the big distillers be came Interested, and as early as April, 1956, before thali domide went on the German market, the company began its own tests. 1 Findings Confirmod The British tests confirmed what the German clinicians had found. In April. 1058, with the approval of the Com mittee for the Classification of Proprietary Drugs, thali domide was put on sale in Britain under the trade name "Distaval." In the next three years the tranquillizer spread through much of the world, to Brazil in South America, to Canada, through most of Europe. It was given many other names in the different markets, among them Softenon, Sedi Lab, Lulamin, Nenrodyn, Neu rosrdyn, Algosediv, Grippcz, Valgrainr, Kevadon, Asmaval, Expectorans. Some were imi tations of 1 1 so original but all contained thalidomide in va rying proportions. Many chem ical firms were now involved in manufacture and sale of the popular sedative. Second thoughts about tha lidomide were slow in coming. When two infant were born in Germany late In 1080 with no arms and hands growing out of the jlu.. Ins, no one connected the eases with any drug. Such births are rare. but not unknown to the medi cal profession. In the case of the Gorman babies II was found Ihey were victims of I'hocomclia or "Seal-Mo-lia" in description of the flipper-like appearance the mal formation sometimes takes, The name comes from the Greek. But suddenly there were more births of phocomeliac children too many to be coincidence. In Hamburg, Ger many, Dr. Widikud Lenz learned of 20 malformed births. He questioned the mothers and learned most of them had taken Contergan in their early pregnancies. In No vember, 1961, Lenz spoke on the matter at a medical meet ing in Ducsseldorf, suggesting a drug which he did not then name was linked to the strange births. Lenz was convinced he knew the cause. On Nov. 16, 1961, he telephoned the Gru nenthal firm and urged its di rectors to remove Contergan from the market. Lenz predicted that Germa ny could expect between 5(J and 100 malformed babies to be born each month. Grunenthal was not willing to take any chances either and on Nov. 19 Contergan was taken off the German market. By then gome 100 million of the pills had been sold. In some places thalidomide also had been sold in liquid and suppository form. Worst Fear Confirmed The West German Health Ministry has formally con firmed the worst of Dr. Lenz's fears and estimates there have been at least 4,000 malformed births in the country since 1957. Distaval and four other preparations containing the drug also were withdrawn im mediately by the British. The London Clinic Medical Jour nal reported that doctors be lieve at least 800 malformed infants had been born in Brit ain although only 50 had been officially reported. The warnings did not bring immediate withdrawal of the drug everywhere. In Italy there was no public aware ness of the German and Brit ish actions until June of this year when doctors reported at a Turin meeting that three recent malformed births could be traced to thalidomide. That was on June 16. On June 20 the .Italian government sus pended production and sale of seven tranquillizers contain ing thalidomide. A week later Italy banned the drug. One by one, Holland, Den mark, Switzerland, Sweden, Belgium, Portugal and Aus tria ordered the drug off the market. France and Spain, among European countries, never ap proved use of thalidomide al though in France it was re ported to have been sold il legally. One case has been as wide ly publicized in Belgium as that of Mrs. Sharri Finkbine in the United States and with even greater tragic conse quences. Child Found Dead The Belgian case involved a "Seal-Melia" baby born to a woman in Liege. When the mother left the hospital for home police were fore-warned that her despair was such they suspected she would kill the child. When police inves tigated the child was dead. The mother, 25-year-old Su zanne Coipel, was arrested, along with her husband, her mother, her sister and her doc tor. The parents are accused of having administered the infant a fatal dose of barbitu rates, and the doctor with conniving in the act. Somehow, the story of tha lidomide made no great im pact in this country until mid July when the Washington Post disclosed the story of a woman doctor in the Federal Drug administration and her determined fight to keep the drug off the American mar ket. While the drug had n o t been certified for general use in this country, it was being tested on an experimental ba sis. And suddenly, many worn en and some doctors remem bered that they had obtained a new and effective sedative drug abroad or had received samples from a U. S. manu: facturer. The labels may hava said "Contergan" or "Dista val" or "Kevadon." However spelled, it was still thalidomide. Stories of deformities fortunately few cropped up in this country, too, and a nationwide search began for all outstanding supplies. Private Winemakers To Notify Officials Persons intending to 'pro duce wine for family use were reminded today by federal authorities that they must no tify the government at least five days before beginning production. If they do not, the wine is subject to tax and seizure and the maker is li able to criminal action. Up to 200 gallons of wine may be produced annually for family use without pay ment of lax, if the wine-maker is the head of a family. Form for giving notice oi home wine production may be obtained in this area from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax di vision, 225 U.S. Courthouse, Portland, Oregon. ll dQ Snrav Starch Mr. II Clrirt Dartre fifift (1 QJfo tVicfan 77n 1 f i 1 w v wwiua wkuiwii casv-un www ma u it iiuuitu Kea. oc www m - www v iwihii u w ta w ti : ' m i 22c 3 35c Aqua Velva After Shave lotio ,22c Crayolas, 24 Count TOOTH BRUSH DIAMOND BRAND Em. for mmSL w "ft 43c Curad Bandages 22c 5c Pkg. Gum All Brands 6 22c 5c Candy Bars 6 f0f 22c 5c Flavor Aid 8p.k.22c GLASS TUMBLERS 9 os. 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