Reports indicate that pregnant women in Australia participated in the groundbreaking trials of the infamous morning sickness medication thalidomide before animal testing occurred.
Records from the distributor of thalidomide, Distillers Company (Biochemicals), reveal that Australian women were involved in trial phases of the drug Distaval in 1960.
The trials commenced in May 1960 at Sydney’s Crown Street Women’s and Royal Prince Alfred hospitals, with additional testing reported in Melbourne and Adelaide; however, the report leaves open the possibility that pregnant women in those cities participated as well.
A letter from a Distillers executive dated 1962 verifies that “no tests were carried out in pregnant animals before Distaval was marketed”, according to the findings.
Following the trials, 1961 saw the birth of malformed infants in Australia, attributable to the trials and also linked to over-the-counter and prescription sales that began in 1960.
Additionally, the documents reveal that Distillers continued to promote the drug to general practitioners and advocated for its inclusion in Australia’s Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, even in light of objections from a Sydney obstetrician, whose patients who used thalidomide experienced the births of malformed or stillborn infants, the report states.
These files are part of an affidavit submitted by the law firm Slater & Gordon to the Victorian Supreme Court, as part of a compensation case involving Lynette Rowe, a victim of thalidomide from Melbourne.
by Vandas Voice
