08 - Thalidomide's long shadow

Prior to 1961 drugs were not stringently tested before being introduced to the Australian market. The prevailing view in obstetric care was that medications that were non-toxic to the mother were non-toxic to the developing fetus. This illusion was dramatically and irreversibly shattered in 1961 when Sydney obstetrician Dr William McBride raised the alarm that babies exposed to thalidomide were being born with significant birth defects. 

The thalidomide tragedy would go on to have seismic impacts. Thousands of children across the world were impacted, and dozens in Australia. It served as the impetus to tighten drug regulation in Australia, and the eventual formation of the TGA. For William McBride the legacy was mixed. Whilst he first rocketed to medical stardom and national acclaim, in his later career he was found guilty of fraud and struck from the medical register. Depending on your perspective, this may be a cautionary tale of the importance of diligence in medical research - or perhaps a warning as to the perils of fame as a doctor, and the risks that come with alienating large pharmaceutical companies.

References

Australian Government 2020 Australian Government response to the Senate Community Affairs References Committee report: Support for Australia’s thalidomide survivors

Australia, House of Representatives 2023 National Apology to all Australians impacted by the Thalidomide Tragedy 

Godden, Judith 2016 Crown Street Women’s Hospital: A history 1893-1983 Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest NSW

McBride, William 1961 “Thalidomide and congenital abnormalities” The Lancet 1961 Dec 16;278(7216):1358

McBride, William 1994 Killing the Messenger Eldorado, Cremorne NSW

McEwen, John 2007 A history of therapeutic goods regulation in Australia 

Senate Community Affairs Reference Committee 2019 Support for Australia’s thalidomide survivors

Stafford, Ned 2018 “William McBride: alerted the world to dangers of thalidomide in fetal development” BMJ 2018:362

Swan, Norman 1987 “The man who stopped thalidomide man accused of fraud” Sydney Morning Herald 12 December 1987 pp 1,4

Swan, Norman 1994, “The thalidomide hero - in his own write: Killing the Messenger by William McBride” New Scientist

Swan, Norman 2018 “Dr William McBride: The flawed character credited with linking thalidomide to birth defects” ABC News

Swan, Norman 2018, “Breaking boundaries in medicine at DFTB17”, Don't Forget the Bubbles, 2018