This is actually one of the few times the FDA stepped up and did their job. Thalidomide was approved almost everywhere EXCEPT in the US. However, there had been some doctors in the US who were prescribing it anyway AND it had been up for review as well.
They gave the case to a new FDA employee named Frances Oldham Kelsey. They figured it would be a no-brainer to approve but she actually did some digging. Despite the “science being settled “ about how safe thalidomide was, it turned out not to be the case. JFK thanked her personally. Search Thalidomide documentary if you can stomach seeing what this drug has done to thousands of humans in their one life on this earth. It is heart wrenching. And so was the trial.
This is actually one of the few times the FDA stepped up and did their job. Thalidomide was approved almost everywhere EXCEPT in the US. However, there had been some doctors in the US who were prescribing it anyway AND it had been up for review as well.
They gave the case to a new FDA employee named Frances Oldham Kelsey. They figured it would be a no-brainer to approve but she actually did some digging. Despite the “science being settled “ about how safe thalidomide was, it turned out not to be the case. JFK thanked her personally. Search Thalidomide documentary if you can stomach seeing what this drug has done to thousands of humans in their one life on this earth. It is heart wrenching. And so was the trial.