DECADES OF ‘SEXIST’ DRUG TRIALS

VALIUM

‘MOTHER’S little helper’ was not tested on women before it originally came on the market, but recent trials have found it can be rendered useless by changes in the menstrual cycle.

ADDYI

A STUDY to test the interaction between alcohol and so-called female Viagra enrolled 23 men and just two women.

THALIDOMIDE

THE original birth scandal drug was never tested in pregnant women before it went on sale in 1957 for morning sickness. It was found in 1962 to catastrophically disrupt foetal development.

DIETHYLSTILBESTROL (DES)

THIS synthetic form of oestrogen was widely prescribed to pregnant women between 1938 and 1971 to prevent miscarriage. It was later found to be ineffective — and In 1971 was found to raise the risk of specific cancers in women.

TAMIFLU

RESEARCH in 2011 suggested pregnant women clear the drug from their bodies faster, so expectant mothers may have received too-low doses.