Comments on: Thalidomide’s big lie overshadows corporate apology

By: EmmetEarwax

EmmetEarwax — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 12:10:14 +0000

(1) One mother of a child with no arms,said that one night she took 2 pills to induce sleep. It took only 2 pills to malignantly deprive her unborn child of a normal life. “2 small pills = 2 baby’s arms”.

(2) A baby whose mother had taken thalidomide had no arms, no way to attach prosthetic arms , and a deformity of her genito-urinary tract. Seeing only a life in an institution for the child, the distraught mother killed the baby. The jury acquited her due to the circumstances.

By: KathyArchibald

KathyArchibald — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 18:06:08 +0000

A powerful and moving article – as is the book, Suffer the Children. Many congratulations to Sir Harold Evans and the Sunday Times Insight Team for their brilliant expose of this terrible tragedy.

There is, however, a major and tragic irony in blaming insufficient animal testing for the disaster: more animal testing would not have prevented the release of thalidomide, since very few species suffer birth defects or other adverse effects in response to the drug. The Office of Health Economics concluded that: “It is unlikely that specific tests in pregnant animals would have given the necessary warning: the right species would probably never have been used.”

This in no way excuses Grünenthal for their catalogue of wrongdoing. But another dreadful legacy of thalidomide is the regulations it spawned: enshrining in law a system of animal testing that would not have averted the thalidomide tragedy and has not averted innumerable tragedies since. Adverse drug reactions are now one of our leading causes of death, and 9 out of 10 new drugs fail in human trials after appearing to be safe and effective in animal tests.

New technologies that could improve drug safety are not being embraced today because governments still demand animal testing, despite its pitiful record.

Please read this excellent short article about thalidomide’s long shadow: http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/ science/when-animals-fail-the-test

By: jledbet

jledbet — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 15:41:33 +0000

Sir Harold Evans responds:

Governments have to varying degrees and very slowly tried to fill the compensation gap left by the inadequacy of drug companies’ payments. The real scandal on government inaction into failing to investigate the disaster in 1962 is one I have highlighted many, many times but most recently in My Paper Chase. This abdication of a clear public duty is the reason desperate families were forced to sue the drug makers, and were failed by the legal system – another scandal.

By: Benny27

Benny27 — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 18:46:24 +0000

It’s not the fault of police that criminals commit crimes

By: REDruin

REDruin — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 17:02:31 +0000

YOu mean the government regulators who are being cut back on? Whose funds are being denied them by congressmen bought by the drug companies? By the obfuscation of companies trying to hide or pad data, or bury it under reams of unimportant information? WHo don’t have the money to pursue legal ramifications and duties to the public?
THOSE government regulators?
It’s not all about government corruption, you know. It’s pure political chicanery.
Take a look at the SEC. Goldman Sachs spends more maintaining and upgrading its tech then the entire SEC budget.
The ATF? If they are lucky, they can get into an inspect a gun store once every seven years.
You think Health officials have it any easier?

==RED

By: Wolbring

Wolbring — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 15:28:19 +0000

There are indeed issues with the company for a long time, however just as bad is thee constant negative dehumanizing portrayal of thalidomiders as again evident in this commentary.
“malformed babies between 1958 and 1961; the most damaged survive today as limbless trunks, others whose legs and arms were reduced to digital “flipper” extrusions from the shoulder, and thousands have severe internal injuries as well.”

That very public dehumanizing portrayal of thalidomiders very likely was and is one of the main reasons for many challenges parentd and thalidomiders faced and face.

Cheers
Gregor Wolbring

By: Rinaldo36

Rinaldo36 — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 06:25:38 +0000

Not quite right to say all this without mentioning governmental betrayal. Whose job is it to protect the public from crooks? Who in government, which agency, which person, signed the “okay” that allowed this “poison” to be sold? And how exactly did that come about? Let’s stop berating crooks, for that will get us nowhere, but let’s begin identifying (and prosecuting) corrupt officials.