Thalidomide - A Debated Drug

In the 1950s, thousands of German children were born with birth defects or died before birth, citing an untested drug called Thalidomide as the cause. The company, Chemie Grünenthal, planned to release the drug to the US but was stopped when FDA reviewer Dr. Frances Oldham Kelsey denied their application. This event led to debate on testing requirements needed for new drugs. Through diplomacy between the government and the FDA, a new law was passed in 1962 that kept unsafe drugs off the market.