Fury at ‘insulting’ thalidomide apology
THE company that invented thalidomide, the morning sickness drug which caused birth defects, upset victims yesterday with an “insulting” and “insincere” apology.
German-based Grunenthal has issued its first apology in 50 years but said the drug’s possible side-effects “could not be detected” before it was marketed. Nick Dobrik, of the UK’s Thalidomide Trust, insisted it “should be an unreserved apology, not a conditional apology”.
He said: “We feel a sincere apology is one which admits wrongdoing. The company has not done that and has insulted thalidomiders.”
The drug was sold in the Fifties and withdrawn in 1961. There are up to 6,000 sufferers still alive.
We ask you regard our long silence as a sign of shock your fate caused in us
Harald Stock, Grunenthal’s chief executive, apologised at the unveiling of a statue symbolising a child without limbs because of thalidomide.
He said: “We ask for forgiveness that for nearly 50 years we didn’t find a way of reaching out to you from human being to human being. We ask you regard our long silence as a sign of shock your fate caused in us.”