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What
Is Thalidomide?
The drug
‘Thalidomide’ was mainly prescribed to pregnant women for
morning sickness in the late 50s and early 60s. Instead the drug
caused severe deformities in babies with missing limbs.
Some
thalidomiders were also born with internal deformities. It’s
estimated that over 3,500 babies died before their first
birthday. Thalidomide was invented in 1954 at the Grünenthal
Labs in Germany by the inventors Dr. W. Kunz (chemical
synthesis) and Dr. H. Keller pharmacological description of
sedative properties).
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THALIDOMIDE UK
WEBSITE
This website is
dedicated to the history of the drug 'thalidomide' and we
explore the various disabilities that the drug caused to babies
worldwide.
Since
Thalidomide UK founded in 1993, against all odds, Diageo
have put additional monies into the trust on three separate
occasions. Payments are being made to provide some
facilities (adaptation of properties/wheelchairs/cars, etc)
to alleviate the problems.
The
thalidomide disabilities was a man-made by a drug, which
could have been so easily avoided if the manufactures and
suppliers had carried out the adequate testing on the drug.
Those who were responsible for the marketing of the drug did
not have a care for human life.
Our website
covers other issue surrounding the side-effects of all
medicines and demonstrates how dangerous drugs can be if
misused.
Freddie
Astbury
(President/Founder)
(Medicines 'Teratogenic'
Regulatory Consultant)
One function
of Thalidomide UK will be as an Advisory and a
Monitoring Group regarding the use of thalidomide and
similar drugs. Our main aim is to reduce the
likelihood of anymore babies been damaged by the drug
thalidomide and other similar medicines being misused, which
cause known birth abnormalities.
In 1985 when
the world discovered that the drug thalidomide was being
used in the treatment of leprosy and that babies were still
being born in countries like Brazil, our immediate response
was to call for the drug to be banned.
Over the
years, most thalidomiders
(please refer to vote online)
have come to accept that if it can help people who
suffer from number of illnesses then it must be used but
only under the strictest guidelines such as a risk
Management Programme.
In our ideal
world, thalidomide would be banned, but we have to accept
that we live in the real world. We believe that the best way
forward is to work on Risk Management Programme like the
European Pregnancy Prevention Programme and the STEPS
Programme in the USA, with the manufactures and suppliers
that would reduce the chances of more babies being damaged
by the drug.
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WHY IS
THALIDOMIDE USED
IN THE
UK
UNDERSTANDING MYELOMA
(Please click on symbol below to view
video)
.........................................................
THALIDOMIDE
UK NOW
AVAILABLE
ON SKYPE
JOIN
NOW
Thalidomide
UK is now available on Skype in most countries.
Webcam is also available,
so for the first you can see your representative
from Thalidomide UK, which aims to make you feel
at ease
and confidence when speaking to us.
INSTRUCTIONS
FOR SKYPE MEMBERS
Please search for
thalidomide.uk
THALIDOMIDE
CAMPAIGNS
We
will continue our campaign against those who we consider
responsible for the drug thalidomide being marketed in 1958.
Full
campaign listings click
HERE
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Archives Photos
Over the years there have been a catalogue of photographs taken
of thalidomide children. This section views many photographs of
the thalidomide children and their fight against their
disabilities.
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THALIDOMIDE UK
VIEWS
THE USE OF
THE DRUG THALIDOMIDE
Thalidomide UK would like to the drug
banned for the treatment of leprosy and in countries were the
drug cannot be controlled or monitored.
We Do Not want the
drug banned in countries where the pharmaceutical suppliers have
involved European thalidomide survivors groups with the
guidelines. Thalidomide UK believes that we
should work towards
licensing the drug, which would prevent it being easily
available over the internet and would stop pharmaceutical
companies supplying the drug with the side effect warnings being
displayed on a little piece of paper which includes small print.
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Government
Compensation
In 1958 the
government granted the drug thalidomide to be licensed by
Distillers Bio-chemical LTD, which caused hundreds of
deformities in babies in the UK. The government have always
refused to pay the survivors any compensation.
EU
backs
return
of
banned
drug
Europe's drug regulators
approved licensed for thalidomide to
treat bone marrow cancer,
nearly 50 years after the
medicine was withdrawn as a
treatment for morning
sickness around the world
because it caused thousands
of children to be born with
birth defects.
The
European medicines agency
granted authorisation for
the medicine to be used to
treat multiple myeloma in
combination with other
drugs, on condition that it
was strictly controlled to
avoid it being taken by
pregnant women.
The
decision follows extensive
consultation including with
a number of European
associations of
thalidomiders, who
ultimately endorsed the
approval after agreeing to
strict safeguards.
It
comes at a time when
hundreds of the children
born with defects caused by
use of the drug are
launching a campaign to
boost compensation by
governments and from
Grünenthal, the German drug
company that developed it in
1957.
The
news marks a boost for
Pharmion, the US
pharmaceutical company that
has researched new uses for
the drug in recent years,
and which has already won
approval in the US,
Australia and other
international markets.
The
decision was particularly
sensitive in Europe, since
the drug was developed and
most extensively marketed
there.
It will
be a blow to several smaller
manufacturers of the drug in
Europe, which could be
legally prescribed on a
case-by-case basis by
doctors. Only Pharmion will
be allowed to sell it in the
EU following the regulatory
approval.
The
governments of a number of
EU countries with large
numbers of victims,
including Italy, have always
refused to offer
compensation, while Germany
offers only modest monthly
allowances.
Article
:
Jan 25, 2008 Financial Times
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Thalidomide
Worldwide .Com
Currently being updated.
View all the thalidomide website worldwide
that have agreed to link together offering more information
regarding this unique disability.
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The
70s Settlement
The Sunday Times (UK) lead the original campaign on behalf of the
victims in the 60s.
A British thalidomider born without arms and legs receives
approximately £22,000 a year from their trust fund.
The settlement made by Distillers to the victims were the lowest
medical claim ever awarded in the
UK.
It’s important to remember that the drug thalidomide was man-made
and so were the thalidomide disabilities. 80% profits for
Diageo's comes from the take-over of Distillers.
Medical
Info
This page should
ONLY be viewed by the
Medical
Profession, who require more information on
the various disabilities of thalidomide.
There are
some Medical photographs in this area, which have never been
seen before until now.
Warning
- Please be aware that you may find some of our photographs
upsetting.
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British
Government
The government granted distillers a UK
product License for the drug thalidomide. The government have
never paid any compensation for licensing the drug, however they
have donated some monies first in 1974 £5million, which was to
offset the tax then £7million in June 1996 - no clear reason was
ever given for this donation.
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£20m and an apology for Britain's
'thalidomiders'
Thursday, 14, Jan 2010 12:00
Health minister Mike O'Brien has expressed the
government's "sincere regret and deep sympathy"
for victims of the drug thalidomide.
It comes four decades after expectant mothers
suffering from morning sickness took the drug
between 1958 and 1961. Thousands of their
offspring suffered from physical disabilities as
a result.
Of them, 466 members of the Thalidomide Trust
remain. The government has announced a £20
million three-year pilot scheme which will meet
survivors' needs "in a more personalised way".
Mr O'Brien told MPs: "The government wishes to
express its sincere regret and deep sympathy for
the injury and suffering endured by all those
affected when expectant mothers took the drug
thalidomide between 1958 and 1961.
"We acknowledge both the physical hardship and
the emotional difficulties that have faced both
the children affected and their families as a
result of this drug, and the challenges that
many continue to endure, often on a daily
basis."
The new funding for 'thalidomiders' will
prioritise looking after their health needs for
the long-term.
After the drug's negative side-effects were
first realised the government launched a major
review of the machinery for marketing, testing
and regulating drugs, which resulted in the
Medicines Act 1968.
Thalidomide victims due
extra cash
(UKPA)
Survivors coping with the
effects of the drug
thalidomide will be given
extra financial help, First
Minister Alex Salmond has
said.
The money will be
"proportionate" to the £20
million announced by the UK
Government last week,
leading to estimates of
about £3 million for
Scotland.
Pregnant women were
prescribed the drug between
1958 and 1961 to treat
morning sickness or insomnia
but it was withdrawn from
sale after babies were born
with deformed limbs and
other disabilities.
Copyright © 2010 The Press
Association.
Thalidomide UK is disgusted that Northern
Ireland, Scotland and Wales have been excluded
from the 20million awarded by Westminster
By politics.co.uk staff
THALIDOMIDE
UK GOES ON
twitter
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THALIDOMIDE AWARENESS VIDEO
(UK VERSION SOUND inc)
(PLEASE CLICK ON
DAILYMOTION ICON)
WARNING - SOME PEOPLE MAY
FIND THIS DVD UPSETTING
.........................................................
TALK
THALIDOMIDE
AUDIO NEWS SERVICE LAUNCHES
2010
Please click on photo below
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Contergan – Just One Tablet
The movie that shook Germany
A German film about the drug thalidomide, first
issued 50 years ago, will be aired despite
opposition by the firm that invented the
medication. The drug caused thousands of
children to be born with severe disabilities.
Grünenthal pharmaceuticals had tried to get the
TV movie banned, saying it was not a fair or
truthful depiction of the tragic story.
But judges in Hamburg ruled that it is clearly
fiction rather than a documentary. This means it
is officially a work of art protected from
censorship by the German constitution.
The film called “Contergan – Just One Tablet”
was aired on German public television in August
2007.
Contergan was the German name for the drug that
was given to pregnant women to treat morning
sickness in the 1950s and the early 1960s. The
drug triggered the biggest pharmaceutical
scandal in postwar Germany after it later became
clear that it caused severe damage to the limbs
and internal organs of unborn foetuses.
Contergan
–
Just
One
Tablet
(ARD Movie Trailer)
(You don’t need to understand
German;
the movie clips is worth a thousand words)
(Please click on symbol below to view
video)
Contergan
–
Just
One
Tablet
(ARD Movie Trailer)
Award of the golden camera to that
Film contergan. “No other film created it in
this year to activate such a broad social
debate”, justifies the jury nominating for “contergan”.
(You don’t need to understand
German;
the movie clips is worth a thousand words)
(Please click on symbol below to view
video)
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Accutane
or
Roaccutane
(generic name isotretinoin)
Hundreds
of drugs still pose the risk of
birth abnormalities.
It is a
retinoid,
meaning it derives from
vitamin A
and is found in small quantities naturally in the body.
Accutane,
or
Roaccutane
(generic name isotretinoin) Amnesteem are members of a family of
drugs called retinoids which are known to cause a number of very serious birth defects, and has been implicated as a
possible cause of cleft lip and cleft palate. Isotretinoin
is derived from vitamin A.
Oral isotretinoin
is marketed under various trade names, most commonly
Accutane (Roche),
Amnesteem (Mylan),
Claravis (Barr),
Decutan (Actavis),
Isotane (Pacific
Pharmaceuticals), Sotret
(Ranbaxy),
Oratane (Genepharm Australasia) or Roaccutane
(Roche),
Izotek (BlauFarma);
while topical isotretinoin is most commonly marketed under
the trade names Isotrex or Isotrexin (Stiefel).
What is even more
terrifying is that the drugs are aimed at teenagers for the
treatment of ACNE.
Accutane
and
Roaccutane
This drug is NOT manufactured by Celgene the
suppliers of Thalidomide or Revlimid, but the pharmaceutical
giants Roche.
Celgene, however is the owner
of the business process patents on components which will be
essential elements of the new isotretinoin RiskMAP. Celgene
is not involved in the strengthened isotretinoin RiskMAP
aside from the patent negotiations.
In US the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration 'FDA or USFDA' (an
agency of the
United States Department of
Health and Human Services and is responsible for
regulating and supervising the safety of
foods,
dietary supplements,
drugs,
vaccines,
biological medical products,
blood products,
medical devices,
radiation-emitting
devices, veterinary products, and
cosmetics) has
insisted that the drug has a stronger Risk Management
Programme than used in the past.
The new
Risk Management Programme is called
iPLEDGE.
The iPLEDGE
program is a mandatory distribution program in the United
States for
isotretinoin
(commonly sold under the trade names Accutane,
Amnesteem, Claravis or Sotret), intended
to prevent the use of the drug during pregnancy due to the
high risk of
birth defects.
iPLEDGE VIDEO
(Please click on symbol below to view
video)
iPLEDGE
(Risk Management Programme)
Revised
October 28, 2005: The
implementation dates of the
iPLEDGE program have been
revised. The date by which
wholesalers and pharmacies must
be registered /activated in
IPLEDGE has been changed from
November 1, 2005 to December 30,
2005. By March 1, 2006, only
prescribers registered and
activated in iPLEDGE can
prescribe isotretinoin and only
patients registered and
qualified in iPLEDGE can be
dispensed isotretinoin. Patients
can begin registering and
qualifying on December 30, 2005.
FDA has developed stronger
requirements to prevent foetal
exposure to the drug Accutane
(isotretinoin) along with its
generic equivalents, such as
Amnesteem, Sotret and Claravis.
Isotretinoin is used to treat
severe, recalcitrant, nodular
acne, but it can cause serious
birth defects if taken by
pregnant women.
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