Ensuring the drugs do work
I WAS born in 1962, so I probably have my mother’s obstinacy to thank for the fact that my life wasn’t so very different.
My generation will never forget that a drug called Thalidomide was licensed for over the counter use in Europe in 1957.
It was marketed as a sedative to treat insomnia, gastritis and, remarkably, morning sickness in pregnant women.
Oh, it is easy to be sceptical now, in an age when mothersto-be avoid nuts and blue cheese but back then the world was marvelling at drug companies that had brought us penicillin and the birth control pill.
A medical revolution was occurring and everyone wanted to be in on it. The result, of course, was awful.
Worldwide, about 10,000 babies were born with defects that included malformation of the limbs and 50 per cent did not survive. Lives were shattered. I remember my mum telling me our family doctor, individuals in society who at the time were never questioned, had extolled the potential benefits of Thalidomide. Happily, for me, she didn’t fancy it.
The fact was, in the pursuit of money and prestige, the German drug company involved, Chemie Grunenthal, just had not done the required testing to determine whether Thalidomide was dangerous to the foetus.
But some great good has come of all this. Further research discovered that Thalidomide was useful for the treatment of cancers, such as multiple myeloma, and leprosy. More importantly, governments woke up to the fact that all potent medicines can have unexpected sideeffects and so modern drug regulations were born.
Today’s drugs, because of Thalidomide and contrary to social media conspiracy theories, are tested, trialled and scrutinised beyond belief. Legislation requires that all side-effects are disclosed and the penalties for “manipulating” results of clinical trials are huge.
Pet owners should be reassured that similar standards are applied by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate to drugs that are intended for use in animals.
The enemy now, however, and the real threat to health, is not the big drug companies but counterfeiters. Recent research by the NHS showed that 50 per cent of drugs sold online were fake. Something we all need to wake up to.