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.
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