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Wonder Drug: The Secret History of Thalidomide in America and Its Hidden Victims
A riveting account of the most notorious drug of the twentieth century and the never-before-told story of its American survivors.
In 1959, a Cincinnati pharmaceutical firm, the William S. Merrell Company, quietly began distributing samples of an exciting new wonder drug already popular around the world. Touted as a sedative without risks, thalidomide was handed out freely, under the guise of clinical trials, by doctors who believed approval by the Food and Drug Administration was imminent.
But in 1960, when the application for thalidomide landed on the desk of FDA medical reviewer Frances Kelsey, she quickly grew suspicious. When she learned that the drug was causing severe birth abnormalities abroad, she and a team of dedicated doctors, parents, and journalists fought tirelessly to block its authorization in the United States and stop its sale around the world.
Jennifer Vanderbes set out to write about this FDA success story only to discover a sinister truth that had been buried for decades: For more than five years, several American pharmaceutical firms had distributed unmarked thalidomide samples in shoddy clinical trials, reaching tens of thousands of unwitting patients, including hundreds of pregnant women.
As Vanderbes examined government and corporate archives, probed court records, and interviewed hundreds of key players, she unearthed an even more stunning find: Scores of Americans had likely been harmed by the drug. Deceived by the pharmaceutical firms, betrayed by doctors, and ignored by the government, most of these Americans had spent their lives unaware that thalidomide had caused their birth defects.
Now, for the first time, this shocking episode in American history is brought to light. Based on thousands of previously unseen documents and over three hundred interviews that spanned three continents, Wonder Drug lays bare a shocking episode in American history. This landmark exposé finally gives voice to the unrecognized victims of the 20th century's most notorious drug.
In 1959, a Cincinnati pharmaceutical firm, the William S. Merrell Company, quietly began distributing samples of an exciting new wonder drug already popular around the world. Touted as a sedative without risks, thalidomide was handed out freely, under the guise of clinical trials, by doctors who believed approval by the Food and Drug Administration was imminent.
But in 1960, when the application for thalidomide landed on the desk of FDA medical reviewer Frances Kelsey, she quickly grew suspicious. When she learned that the drug was causing severe birth abnormalities abroad, she and a team of dedicated doctors, parents, and journalists fought tirelessly to block its authorization in the United States and stop its sale around the world.
Jennifer Vanderbes set out to write about this FDA success story only to discover a sinister truth that had been buried for decades: For more than five years, several American pharmaceutical firms had distributed unmarked thalidomide samples in shoddy clinical trials, reaching tens of thousands of unwitting patients, including hundreds of pregnant women.
As Vanderbes examined government and corporate archives, probed court records, and interviewed hundreds of key players, she unearthed an even more stunning find: Scores of Americans had likely been harmed by the drug. Deceived by the pharmaceutical firms, betrayed by doctors, and ignored by the government, most of these Americans had spent their lives unaware that thalidomide had caused their birth defects.
Now, for the first time, this shocking episode in American history is brought to light. Based on thousands of previously unseen documents and over three hundred interviews that spanned three continents, Wonder Drug lays bare a shocking episode in American history. This landmark exposé finally gives voice to the unrecognized victims of the 20th century's most notorious drug.
432 pages, Hardcover
First published June 27, 2023
327 people are currently reading
6150 people want to read
About the author
Jennifer Vanderbes
6 books184 followersJennifer Vanderbes is an award-winning novelist, journalist and screenwriter whose work has been translated into sixteen languages.
Her first novel, Easter Island was named a "best book of 2003" by the Washington Post and Christian Science Monitor. Her second novel, Strangers At The Feast, was described by O, The Oprah Magazine as "a thriller that also raises large and haunting questions about the meaning of guilt, innocence, and justice." Her third novel, The Secret of Raven Point, was hailed as “unputdownable” (Vogue) and “gripping” (New York Times), and Library Journal wrote: “the only disappointing thing about this book is that it has to end."
Her first non-fiction book, Wonder Drug: The Secret History of Thalidomide in America and Its Hidden Victims, is forthcoming from Random House and HarperCollins UK.
Her essays have appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and The Atlantic, and her short fiction has appeared in Granta, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, and Best New American Voices.
Her books have received awards from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and the New York Public Library. She was named a 2019-2020 NEH Public Scholar for her work on Wonder Drug.
Vanderbes received her B.A. in English Literature, Magna Cum Laude, from Yale and her M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the Iowa Writers' Workshop. She lives in New York City with her two daughters.
Her facebook page is http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Jenn...
Her first novel, Easter Island was named a "best book of 2003" by the Washington Post and Christian Science Monitor. Her second novel, Strangers At The Feast, was described by O, The Oprah Magazine as "a thriller that also raises large and haunting questions about the meaning of guilt, innocence, and justice." Her third novel, The Secret of Raven Point, was hailed as “unputdownable” (Vogue) and “gripping” (New York Times), and Library Journal wrote: “the only disappointing thing about this book is that it has to end."
Her first non-fiction book, Wonder Drug: The Secret History of Thalidomide in America and Its Hidden Victims, is forthcoming from Random House and HarperCollins UK.
Her essays have appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and The Atlantic, and her short fiction has appeared in Granta, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, and Best New American Voices.
Her books have received awards from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and the New York Public Library. She was named a 2019-2020 NEH Public Scholar for her work on Wonder Drug.
Vanderbes received her B.A. in English Literature, Magna Cum Laude, from Yale and her M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the Iowa Writers' Workshop. She lives in New York City with her two daughters.
Her facebook page is http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Jenn...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 231 reviews
June 25, 2023
This is a highly readable piece of investigative journalism on thalidomide in the US. The traditional story is of one heroic woman in the FDA who refused to approve the job despite extensive pressure from the drug company and other people at the FDA, sparing the US from this awful pandemic of children born with missing limbs and other birth defects.
Vanderbes show how it's nowhere near that simple. I have known about the thalidomide outbreak for a long time, since Billy Joel had me searching for references in We Didn't Start the Fire before google was a thing to do it on. Even with that and a healthy dose of skepticism and disillusionment about anything government related during this period, the story is a jaw dropper. No one kept track of anything ever, and women ultimately bore the blame. This book shows how much this catastrophe helped put in place many of the safeguards we take for granted today. Those safeguards actually contribute to our misunderstanding. I would never in a million years expect "clinical trials" to look like doctors swapping envelopes of unmarked pills.
This is great for anyone interested in this history. Id also encourage people interested in good investigative reporting / legal thrillers like All the President's Men, The Assassination of Fred Hampton, or Mississippi Burning.
Vanderbes show how it's nowhere near that simple. I have known about the thalidomide outbreak for a long time, since Billy Joel had me searching for references in We Didn't Start the Fire before google was a thing to do it on. Even with that and a healthy dose of skepticism and disillusionment about anything government related during this period, the story is a jaw dropper. No one kept track of anything ever, and women ultimately bore the blame. This book shows how much this catastrophe helped put in place many of the safeguards we take for granted today. Those safeguards actually contribute to our misunderstanding. I would never in a million years expect "clinical trials" to look like doctors swapping envelopes of unmarked pills.
This is great for anyone interested in this history. Id also encourage people interested in good investigative reporting / legal thrillers like All the President's Men, The Assassination of Fred Hampton, or Mississippi Burning.
May 21, 2024
This is an impeccably researched and definitive account of an important episode in the history of medicine, perinatal health, and corporate and government malfeasance and greed (which still seems putting it rather mildly given the involvement of actual Nazis in the development and distribution of this drug).
It’s also just a hell of a sad and pathetic story. There is not a lot of drama, just some really banal evildoing. Basically, a bunch of rich empowered dudes - again, many of whom were literal Nazis - decided there must be some way to make some money off of a sketchy and mysterious drug manufacturing byproduct that nobody understood well, but why let that be a barrier, and they managed to somehow get it out to market largely untested and unproven except for experimenting poorly and non-consensually on the vulnerable. Then the drug was often given to women without their knowledge for their, you know, Hysteria and Lady Problems - or, preventively, just to address the weaknesses of Being Female. And when children started being born with horrible and often fatal health complications, there was of course a lot of denial and covering up of it all, victim blaming, and outright kidnapping and shutting away of the children who were deemed unworthy of life in that way that Nazis have of doing.
In past historical accounts, the US was let off the hook for being a country that didn’t actually approve the drug for sale. However - this book illustrates how unmarked bottles of it, samples basically, wended their way sketchily throughout the medical system, like smuggled counterfeit goods purchased from Silk Road or a shady Amazon retailer, and then these underground, off-label Mothers Little Helper Vitamins were (without much, or any, explanation other than Here Take Your Calm Down Pills) pressed upon perceived damsels in distress who dared to engage in medical care, because doctors thought - I’m sure it’s probably fine and the risk of administering any snake oil cure-all is totally worth not having to hear about or deal with potential Womanly Issues, am I right?
Be prepared that, although well written, I’d classify this as a straightforward (but readable) history book. It’s extremely blow-by-blow detailed, a rather definitive account. I’ve seen comparisons to books like Empire of Pain and Bad Blood. I get it, but I’d call those pretty riveting and masterful works of longform investigative journalism with storytelling that unfolds quite suspensefully. This book doesn’t read quite like those in my point of view, it reads like a good history book, so I would manage those expectations.
However, all of these books relate equally awful and shocking stories of pervasive and systemic evil and exploitation that are hardly within the realm of belief, so in that sense the comparison is apt.
In the interest of not repeating history and reminding ourselves of what sanctioned horrors have been possible even in Our Modern Times, we needed this book. I would love to see this book adapted into a series so that the story may reach a wider audience, and it would lend itself well to that. And aside from the horrors of the tale, there are also some heroic and unknown activists involved - including women and impacted parents - whose efforts to unmask and address this hideous issue are well worth broadcasting and celebrating.
It’s also just a hell of a sad and pathetic story. There is not a lot of drama, just some really banal evildoing. Basically, a bunch of rich empowered dudes - again, many of whom were literal Nazis - decided there must be some way to make some money off of a sketchy and mysterious drug manufacturing byproduct that nobody understood well, but why let that be a barrier, and they managed to somehow get it out to market largely untested and unproven except for experimenting poorly and non-consensually on the vulnerable. Then the drug was often given to women without their knowledge for their, you know, Hysteria and Lady Problems - or, preventively, just to address the weaknesses of Being Female. And when children started being born with horrible and often fatal health complications, there was of course a lot of denial and covering up of it all, victim blaming, and outright kidnapping and shutting away of the children who were deemed unworthy of life in that way that Nazis have of doing.
In past historical accounts, the US was let off the hook for being a country that didn’t actually approve the drug for sale. However - this book illustrates how unmarked bottles of it, samples basically, wended their way sketchily throughout the medical system, like smuggled counterfeit goods purchased from Silk Road or a shady Amazon retailer, and then these underground, off-label Mothers Little Helper Vitamins were (without much, or any, explanation other than Here Take Your Calm Down Pills) pressed upon perceived damsels in distress who dared to engage in medical care, because doctors thought - I’m sure it’s probably fine and the risk of administering any snake oil cure-all is totally worth not having to hear about or deal with potential Womanly Issues, am I right?
Be prepared that, although well written, I’d classify this as a straightforward (but readable) history book. It’s extremely blow-by-blow detailed, a rather definitive account. I’ve seen comparisons to books like Empire of Pain and Bad Blood. I get it, but I’d call those pretty riveting and masterful works of longform investigative journalism with storytelling that unfolds quite suspensefully. This book doesn’t read quite like those in my point of view, it reads like a good history book, so I would manage those expectations.
However, all of these books relate equally awful and shocking stories of pervasive and systemic evil and exploitation that are hardly within the realm of belief, so in that sense the comparison is apt.
In the interest of not repeating history and reminding ourselves of what sanctioned horrors have been possible even in Our Modern Times, we needed this book. I would love to see this book adapted into a series so that the story may reach a wider audience, and it would lend itself well to that. And aside from the horrors of the tale, there are also some heroic and unknown activists involved - including women and impacted parents - whose efforts to unmask and address this hideous issue are well worth broadcasting and celebrating.
April 10, 2023
What an absolutely horrifying and fascinating read this was... I was familiar with the thalidomide issue, having previously worked in pharmaceutical regulatory affairs, but had no idea of exactly the scope and scale of the bad behavior on all sides in this particular global disaster.. Vanderbes has done a fantastic job highlighting the failures on all fronts, as well as the few unsung/under-sung heroes/heroines to be found. In a narrative style that reads like fiction, she tells this story in a way that cannot fail to have an impact on those who read it.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my obligation-free review copy.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my obligation-free review copy.
June 27, 2023
In the 1950s, a German pharmaceutical company, Chemie Grünenthal, created a compound that it claimed could treat a variety of ailments. However, researchers failed to conduct rigorous clinical trials to prove that the product was safe and effective. In 1956, thalidomide was licensed for sale in Germany. In addition, the company distributed their drug to more than forty-six countries. Doctors in America, Canada, Australia, and elsewhere gave it to their patients, family members, and colleagues. Numerous expectant mothers who took thalidomide early in their pregnancies gave birth to babies with phocomelia—congenital deformities of the limbs. Other side effects were peripheral neuritis (inflammation of the nerves), paresthesia (a numb or burning sensation similar to pins and needles), sight loss, hearing loss, and damage to internal organs.
In her superbly written, meticulously researched, and heartbreaking work of non-fiction, "Wonder Drug," Jennifer Vanderbes explores how this catastrophe affected Americans. This book contains riveting anecdotes and enlightening background information about the businessmen, researchers, doctors, patients, journalists, and politicians who played key roles in this disastrous tale of greed, negligence, "slapdash science, and corporate callousness." The author explains the meaning of technical terms for the layperson and includes black and white photographs, end notes, a bibliography, and index.
This cautionary tale powerfully reinforces what most of us already know—that every new drug should be thoroughly tested before it receives the government's stamp of approval. Moreover, patients are entitled to informed consent—to know what medicine they are taking and its possible side effects. It is shocking that the drug manufacturers who unleashed thalidomide on an unsuspecting public prioritized sales over safety, and that they repeatedly lied about what they knew and when they knew it. On the other hand, it is heartening that such scrupulous and caring individuals as Dr. Frances Kelsey, a medical reviewer for the Food and Drug Administration, suspected that thalidomide might be dangerous and helped block FDA approval in America. Unfortunately, the William S. Merrell Company gave out samples (under the brand name Kevadon), to more than twelve hundred doctors in the United States. Many of these physicians dispensed thalidomide pills but later denied having done so. Few American victims received compensation from the manufacturer or even an acknowledgement that thalidomide had harmed them. "Wonder Drug" reads like a medical thriller, but it is all too real. We should take its chilling lessons to heart.
In her superbly written, meticulously researched, and heartbreaking work of non-fiction, "Wonder Drug," Jennifer Vanderbes explores how this catastrophe affected Americans. This book contains riveting anecdotes and enlightening background information about the businessmen, researchers, doctors, patients, journalists, and politicians who played key roles in this disastrous tale of greed, negligence, "slapdash science, and corporate callousness." The author explains the meaning of technical terms for the layperson and includes black and white photographs, end notes, a bibliography, and index.
This cautionary tale powerfully reinforces what most of us already know—that every new drug should be thoroughly tested before it receives the government's stamp of approval. Moreover, patients are entitled to informed consent—to know what medicine they are taking and its possible side effects. It is shocking that the drug manufacturers who unleashed thalidomide on an unsuspecting public prioritized sales over safety, and that they repeatedly lied about what they knew and when they knew it. On the other hand, it is heartening that such scrupulous and caring individuals as Dr. Frances Kelsey, a medical reviewer for the Food and Drug Administration, suspected that thalidomide might be dangerous and helped block FDA approval in America. Unfortunately, the William S. Merrell Company gave out samples (under the brand name Kevadon), to more than twelve hundred doctors in the United States. Many of these physicians dispensed thalidomide pills but later denied having done so. Few American victims received compensation from the manufacturer or even an acknowledgement that thalidomide had harmed them. "Wonder Drug" reads like a medical thriller, but it is all too real. We should take its chilling lessons to heart.
April 3, 2023
I was thrilled to have the opportunity to read a pre-pub copy of WONDER DRUG. Vanderbes has here applied the writerly techniques I find so effective in her historical fiction to this rigorously researched non-fiction book. The result is not only a page-turner full of lively characters, but a book whose impact will stay with me forever. It's not an overstatement to say that reading WONDER DRUG has changed the way I read and hear the news, and the way I look at medical practice. A must read book whose significance transcends its important but specific subject.
July 19, 2023
This book was an extremely fascinating read. It also pissed me off so bad I stomped around the house for a good long time ranting at the selfishness and pure GREED of Doctors who swore to "do no harm" and the proceeded to cause some of the worse harm ever and never even got a slap on the wrist for it [if anything, they were defended and the mothers that had deformed children were made to believe it was all their fault for taking a drug their OWN DOCTORS gave them]. Shame on them all.
The science of this was the fascinating part - so much went into developing this drug [that looked hopeful from day one] except the actual controlled trials and the actual collecting [and reporting] of the data that was coming in. They just randomly gave this drug to people without knowing what would really happen and that is 100% horrifying. I have long had issues with the FDA, and this book just amps that up a billion times. Of course, this drug was initially developed by the nazi's so I am not sure why we are surprised - WHY in the world were we using drugs developed by THE FREAKING NAZI'S in the first place?? SMH.
I feel for these families and their children. I am glad that some of them grew up to have decent lives, but I think of all that didn't and all the families that watched their poor babies die - It is so horrific that I can barely think about it again without dissolving into tears.
I think this is a must read simply because we as patients need to KNOW what doctors are trying to give us [My mom was given a drug for her arthritic hands and she started having some weird reactions. I had just happened to read an article on said drug that told me that it was a sulfa-based drug and my mom is ALLERGIC to sulfa-based
drugs {something her Dr. did know] and when she went in and showed him the reaction and told him, he was shocked. He had never been informed of this when the drug reps came in with it. If she had continued it for just TWO more days she would have gone into a coma and more than likely died. ALL because the drug companies chose to NOT divulge information], we need to look stuff up and we need to ADVOCATE for our own selves and say NO when something feels hinky. We have to to stay alive. Think about that for awhile, and then go and learn how to advocate for your own healthcare.
Thank you to NetGalley, Jennifer Vanderbes, and Random House Publishing Group/Random House for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The science of this was the fascinating part - so much went into developing this drug [that looked hopeful from day one] except the actual controlled trials and the actual collecting [and reporting] of the data that was coming in. They just randomly gave this drug to people without knowing what would really happen and that is 100% horrifying. I have long had issues with the FDA, and this book just amps that up a billion times. Of course, this drug was initially developed by the nazi's so I am not sure why we are surprised - WHY in the world were we using drugs developed by THE FREAKING NAZI'S in the first place?? SMH.
I feel for these families and their children. I am glad that some of them grew up to have decent lives, but I think of all that didn't and all the families that watched their poor babies die - It is so horrific that I can barely think about it again without dissolving into tears.
I think this is a must read simply because we as patients need to KNOW what doctors are trying to give us [My mom was given a drug for her arthritic hands and she started having some weird reactions. I had just happened to read an article on said drug that told me that it was a sulfa-based drug and my mom is ALLERGIC to sulfa-based
drugs {something her Dr. did know] and when she went in and showed him the reaction and told him, he was shocked. He had never been informed of this when the drug reps came in with it. If she had continued it for just TWO more days she would have gone into a coma and more than likely died. ALL because the drug companies chose to NOT divulge information], we need to look stuff up and we need to ADVOCATE for our own selves and say NO when something feels hinky. We have to to stay alive. Think about that for awhile, and then go and learn how to advocate for your own healthcare.
Thank you to NetGalley, Jennifer Vanderbes, and Random House Publishing Group/Random House for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
March 3, 2024
Wow! Reads like a thriller and has some truly kick ass female heroes. I didn’t know much about thalidomide at all and now I know a lot. If you like narrative nonfiction, then you will love this book.
March 22, 2023
I received a digital ARC from the publisher (Random House) through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This book gives a a meticulously researched, comprehensive, and compelling overview of the history of thalidomide and its devastating impacts. Although I had heard of thalidomide and its teratogenic effects, the scope of the lies and cover-ups from the drug companies, medical community, and government was new to me.
I appreciated that the book was organized in such a way to give the current complete picture. It begins with an overview of how thalidomide was discovered and why it was pushed as a miracle, "wonder" drug. Learning about the origins of the doctors who first championed thalidomide was also thought-provoking. Many know about the medical atrocities carried out during World War II, but the aftermath of what happened to the doctors responsible is not so widely known.
The book then gives a in-depth overview of the marketing campaigns and disorganized, barely documented clinical trials in the United States. Goings-on in Germany are also discussed. Woven throughout are the stories of Drs. Frances Kelsey, Helen Taussig, and Barbara Moulton, who I enjoyed learning about. Other key figures are also prominent, such as Estes Kefauver, Dr. Widukind Lenz, and Karl and Linde Schulte-Hillen. Snippets from court proceedings, interviews, and other documents are included at the end of each chapter, which help bring the events to life.
The story of thalidomide is also the story of more stringent drug laws and regulations regarding clinical trials and the relationship between pharmaceutical sales representatives and physicians. I also liked learning more about the FDA and its processes. The book closes with a discussion of the "thalidomide babies" in the U.S. and their ongoing efforts to receive compensation and acknowledgement of the damage thalidomide has done. The epilogue also describes thalidomide today and the conditions for which it is being investigated as a potential medication (leprosy, myeloma, etc.)
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys investigative journalism and wants to learn more about the drug industry. The book is engaging, easy to read, and gives light to events that have been continuously denied or otherwise concealed.
This book gives a a meticulously researched, comprehensive, and compelling overview of the history of thalidomide and its devastating impacts. Although I had heard of thalidomide and its teratogenic effects, the scope of the lies and cover-ups from the drug companies, medical community, and government was new to me.
I appreciated that the book was organized in such a way to give the current complete picture. It begins with an overview of how thalidomide was discovered and why it was pushed as a miracle, "wonder" drug. Learning about the origins of the doctors who first championed thalidomide was also thought-provoking. Many know about the medical atrocities carried out during World War II, but the aftermath of what happened to the doctors responsible is not so widely known.
The book then gives a in-depth overview of the marketing campaigns and disorganized, barely documented clinical trials in the United States. Goings-on in Germany are also discussed. Woven throughout are the stories of Drs. Frances Kelsey, Helen Taussig, and Barbara Moulton, who I enjoyed learning about. Other key figures are also prominent, such as Estes Kefauver, Dr. Widukind Lenz, and Karl and Linde Schulte-Hillen. Snippets from court proceedings, interviews, and other documents are included at the end of each chapter, which help bring the events to life.
The story of thalidomide is also the story of more stringent drug laws and regulations regarding clinical trials and the relationship between pharmaceutical sales representatives and physicians. I also liked learning more about the FDA and its processes. The book closes with a discussion of the "thalidomide babies" in the U.S. and their ongoing efforts to receive compensation and acknowledgement of the damage thalidomide has done. The epilogue also describes thalidomide today and the conditions for which it is being investigated as a potential medication (leprosy, myeloma, etc.)
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys investigative journalism and wants to learn more about the drug industry. The book is engaging, easy to read, and gives light to events that have been continuously denied or otherwise concealed.
July 2, 2023
"Wonder Drug: The Secret History of Thalidomide in America and Its Hidden Victims" is deeply researched new book that shines a light on the previously well-concealed secret of the widespread use of thalidomide in the U.S.
After working for 33 years as an FDA medical/clinical/pharmaceutical/biologics liaison, I was pretty sure I knew the thalidomide story. Frances Kelsey, and FDA reviewer, and Estes Kefauver, an outspoken Senator whose committee investigated the U.S. pharmaceutical industry, were praised as heros for keeping thalidomide from sale in the U.S. market. They are well-known for their roles in protecting Americans from the terrible tragedy of thalidomide babies in Europe.
But the real story is much more complicated, and for 60 years it has been hidden behind layers of bureaucracy. Jennifer Vanderbes reveals the stunning truth in this poignant account of what happened during the development of thalidomide—not only in America—but around the world.
Drug companies, manufacturers, FDA and physicians conducted studies on pregnant women without their knowledge or permission, then lied to parents of maimed children and to the public, denying their status as guinea pigs and the known teratogenic effects of the drug. Many children whose birth defects were caused by this drug grew up believing that their deformed or missing limbs were just an accident or "God's way," had no idea of the information that was concealed from their parents and from them.
If you liked "Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup (John Carreyrou) and "Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty" (Patrick Radden Keefe), you will like this book.
After working for 33 years as an FDA medical/clinical/pharmaceutical/biologics liaison, I was pretty sure I knew the thalidomide story. Frances Kelsey, and FDA reviewer, and Estes Kefauver, an outspoken Senator whose committee investigated the U.S. pharmaceutical industry, were praised as heros for keeping thalidomide from sale in the U.S. market. They are well-known for their roles in protecting Americans from the terrible tragedy of thalidomide babies in Europe.
But the real story is much more complicated, and for 60 years it has been hidden behind layers of bureaucracy. Jennifer Vanderbes reveals the stunning truth in this poignant account of what happened during the development of thalidomide—not only in America—but around the world.
Drug companies, manufacturers, FDA and physicians conducted studies on pregnant women without their knowledge or permission, then lied to parents of maimed children and to the public, denying their status as guinea pigs and the known teratogenic effects of the drug. Many children whose birth defects were caused by this drug grew up believing that their deformed or missing limbs were just an accident or "God's way," had no idea of the information that was concealed from their parents and from them.
If you liked "Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup (John Carreyrou) and "Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty" (Patrick Radden Keefe), you will like this book.
June 12, 2023
Top-rate investigative journalism that packs quite an emotional punch.
June 6, 2024
3.5 stars rounded up. In Wonder Drug, journalist Jennifer Vanderbes explores the hidden history of thalidomide use in the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s, where at least several hundred babies were born with birth defects attributable to thalidomide, and many were also likely miscarried or passed away shortly after birth. At the time, thalidomide was marketed as a non-addictive tranquilizer in much of Europe and in Canada and in Australia and New Zealand. In the US, the drug was not FDA-approved (largely thanks to the efforts of Dr. Frances Oldham Kelsey, who was the FDA pharmacologist in charge of rendering a verdict on the drug's application) but still given out by likely thousands of American doctors who received supplies from pharmaceutical companies under the guise of conducting trials, or in anticipation of it reaching market soon.
The book is interspersed with brief statements from dozens of adults born with thalidomide-induced birth defects. In the audiobook version to which I listened, these statements aren't prefaced to let the reader know this was a break from Vanderbes' text, which was a bit confusing.
The FDA and doctors as a whole aren't portrayed very positively in this book, which may have been Vanderbes' bias showing -- this, as well as some repetitiveness, are what is driving down my rating for this book. Her attempt to give the book a chilling conclusion by intoning that thalidomide and its teratogenic derivatives are still on the market today under different names isn't bothersome personally, as I'm a physician and a scientist well-versed in the recycling and derivatization of drugs to improve PK/PD properties and skirt patent protection. I think in this case, historical context is very important to keep in mind -- what we know as the modern FDA only came about after a lot of terrible scandals in the 1920s when there were very few regulations manufacturers were required to follow and pretty much anyone could sell anything as a miracle cure (see Deborah Blum's The Poison Squad: One Chemist's Single-Minded Crusade for Food Safety at the Turn of the Twentieth Century and also Thomas Hager's The Demon Under the Microscope: From Battlefield Hospitals to Nazi Labs, One Doctor's Heroic Search for the World's First Miracle Drug). Medicine of the 1950s and 1960s was very patriarchal, and the modern concepts of informed consent other rights that healthcare providers owe to patients was very different than it is today. I'm not trying to be an apologist for the misdeeds perpetrated in this book -- quite the opposite, actually -- but clarifying that we shouldn't be judging people of the (not-so-distant) past by today's moral standards.
My stats:
Book 112 for 2024
Book 1715 cumulatively
The book is interspersed with brief statements from dozens of adults born with thalidomide-induced birth defects. In the audiobook version to which I listened, these statements aren't prefaced to let the reader know this was a break from Vanderbes' text, which was a bit confusing.
The FDA and doctors as a whole aren't portrayed very positively in this book, which may have been Vanderbes' bias showing -- this, as well as some repetitiveness, are what is driving down my rating for this book. Her attempt to give the book a chilling conclusion by intoning that thalidomide and its teratogenic derivatives are still on the market today under different names isn't bothersome personally, as I'm a physician and a scientist well-versed in the recycling and derivatization of drugs to improve PK/PD properties and skirt patent protection. I think in this case, historical context is very important to keep in mind -- what we know as the modern FDA only came about after a lot of terrible scandals in the 1920s when there were very few regulations manufacturers were required to follow and pretty much anyone could sell anything as a miracle cure (see Deborah Blum's The Poison Squad: One Chemist's Single-Minded Crusade for Food Safety at the Turn of the Twentieth Century and also Thomas Hager's The Demon Under the Microscope: From Battlefield Hospitals to Nazi Labs, One Doctor's Heroic Search for the World's First Miracle Drug). Medicine of the 1950s and 1960s was very patriarchal, and the modern concepts of informed consent other rights that healthcare providers owe to patients was very different than it is today. I'm not trying to be an apologist for the misdeeds perpetrated in this book -- quite the opposite, actually -- but clarifying that we shouldn't be judging people of the (not-so-distant) past by today's moral standards.
My stats:
Book 112 for 2024
Book 1715 cumulatively
March 14, 2023
Meticulously researched this book details the history of the drug Thalidomide and it's use of prescribing to pregnant women in the late 50's. It couples its history with some tidbits from those that were directly affected by their mothers use of this horrible drug. Finally, throughout this book you will learn about the tireless effort one doctor went through to put an end to this. Thanks to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.
April 15, 2023
Wow, what an amazing read on so many levels! I had never heard of thalidomide before, and was in awe of the brave people who stood up to speak out about the drug, as well as the "thalidomide babies" who created their own strong community as they came together.
Personally, there's so many times when doctors just prescribe me multiple drugs (and quickly diagnose me based on their own presumptions) without explaining what they are giving me, and flippantly saying everything is safe. Even when I try to speak up to avoid drug usage, they tend to dismiss my concerns. We definitely need stricter regulations on prescriptions and drugs, and stop throwing pills at people, from kids to adults to "fix" things. And why do so many things we use and consume daily have so many toxic ingredients? Plus, the whole marketing aspect of promoting unsafe products has been out of control. There's so much to think about and discuss, and this book brought up a myriad of issues we need to address.
Notable lines:
"Names of trial doctors, forever guarded, meant that patients might never know they'd been used as guinea pigs. On all sides, the law shielded doctors, leaving patients defenseless."
"Mothers took more blame than the drug firms or doctors."
"'It is chilling to think that under the current laws, several companies could have suspected the teratogenic effects of this drug and quietly developed their marketing plans without disclosing the hazard.'-Frances Kelsey, 1962"
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC for an honest review.
Personally, there's so many times when doctors just prescribe me multiple drugs (and quickly diagnose me based on their own presumptions) without explaining what they are giving me, and flippantly saying everything is safe. Even when I try to speak up to avoid drug usage, they tend to dismiss my concerns. We definitely need stricter regulations on prescriptions and drugs, and stop throwing pills at people, from kids to adults to "fix" things. And why do so many things we use and consume daily have so many toxic ingredients? Plus, the whole marketing aspect of promoting unsafe products has been out of control. There's so much to think about and discuss, and this book brought up a myriad of issues we need to address.
Notable lines:
"Names of trial doctors, forever guarded, meant that patients might never know they'd been used as guinea pigs. On all sides, the law shielded doctors, leaving patients defenseless."
"Mothers took more blame than the drug firms or doctors."
"'It is chilling to think that under the current laws, several companies could have suspected the teratogenic effects of this drug and quietly developed their marketing plans without disclosing the hazard.'-Frances Kelsey, 1962"
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC for an honest review.
July 21, 2023
In 1959, nearly every doctor believed no drugs could reach across the placenta to get to an unborn baby. Pregnant women took Thalidomide (it has various trade names) with the wholehearted approval of their doctors. A simple Google search will tell you the basics of how this idea was proven incorrect.
I've delivered over 2000 babies, so I was eager to get my hands on this book- June 23, there was a short interview w/the author on a Sunday NPR show. My thoughts, now that I have spent several days with it: I want to read it again. The 1950s through early 1960s were a formative time for the future of drug development, and this book documents much of it in CAREFUL detail- yet it is not a dry tale. Rather, Vanderbes draws insightful, careful sketches of the main characters, one of whom I met in medical school. She combines so much research that I'd class her book's first half as "Labor of Love" with the more modern 2nd half of the book- the story of the many American babies affected personally by thalidomide. A five star book.
As an accurate, thorough and entertaining non-fiction book, Wonderdrug is WELL worth reading.
I've delivered over 2000 babies, so I was eager to get my hands on this book- June 23, there was a short interview w/the author on a Sunday NPR show. My thoughts, now that I have spent several days with it: I want to read it again. The 1950s through early 1960s were a formative time for the future of drug development, and this book documents much of it in CAREFUL detail- yet it is not a dry tale. Rather, Vanderbes draws insightful, careful sketches of the main characters, one of whom I met in medical school. She combines so much research that I'd class her book's first half as "Labor of Love" with the more modern 2nd half of the book- the story of the many American babies affected personally by thalidomide. A five star book.
As an accurate, thorough and entertaining non-fiction book, Wonderdrug is WELL worth reading.
June 10, 2023
A breathtaking history of thalidomide in America, filled with a fantastic array of characters. An amazing set of everyday heroes played a pivotal role in exposing the dangers of this toxic drug. This is a David vs. Goliath narrative at its most gripping. A propulsive and important read. Fans of Empire of Pain and Henrietta Lacks will appreciate this.
February 4, 2025
As a medicinal chemist going for a book “in my field”, I was excited to read this, but by the end I got quite disappointed. While it can be seen that the author put quite a lot of time into the research of the whole problem, the way it was written was very incoherent. Unnecessary amounts of pathos were used, making it feel very amateurish.
A lot of unanswered and unaddressed questions and problems. It was definitely interesting to read about the problem as a whole, but the book does not provide a coherent story and background.
A lot of unanswered and unaddressed questions and problems. It was definitely interesting to read about the problem as a whole, but the book does not provide a coherent story and background.
June 16, 2023
I loved this book. The writing is gripping and it was impossible to put the book down. The stories are heartbreaking yet some at the same time some are uplifting. I loved the list of characters at the beginning of the book, unusual to me for a nonfiction book. But this story entangles so many characters including doctors who gave out thalidomide, the women who received it and their children, and employees of the FDA and the various drug companies, that the list came in very handy. I also loved how each chapter started, with a quote or a citation of a legal document etc. Overall a great book. Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for the digital review copy.
August 7, 2023
This a very informative and accessible read. Anyone that enjoyed 'Empire of pain' needs to read this. I am really surprised that I haven't seen or heard more talk about this book.
October 14, 2023
4.75/5 This was quite the deep dive into a drug I didn’t know a lot about. It’s was sad and fascinating.
October 15, 2023
An absolutely fascinating and infuriating read. The greed of big Pharma really has no bounds and no shame at all. And, while the newly created FDA, through the efforts of one woman, Frances Kelsey, did prevent countless of cases, they still have not acknowledged that Thalidomide was widely distributed as samples. Kudos to all the doctors, journalists and parents who fought for the truth in Europe and in North America. This reads as fiction, but unfortunately, it's not.
March 22, 2024
Absolutely riveting exploration of the horrors of the pharmaceutical industry in its early years, and paints a clear path of how we get to where we are. Listened to the audiobook, author narrated, and loved her voice and tone too
June 8, 2023
Harrowing and comprehensive history of Thalidomide. Very accessible-perhaps a little too much so. I enjoyed the style of the book, which depended a lot on various personal viewpoints, but I would have preferred footnotes to the notes section at the end of the book. Footnotes always make it easier for me to keep track of cites.
Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC for my review.
Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC for my review.
August 19, 2023
This book is very unsettling and is not for the faint of heart. It is a true story that has for many years been suppressed and tamped down it would seem. Author Jennifer Vanderbes does an outstanding job of giving a very readable history of the drug Thalidomide, touted as a sedative or sleep aid without risks, and the thousands of children born with severe birth abnormalities worldwide due to their mothers’ prenatal use of the drug. This happened in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s and, despite claims still being made today to the contrary, included thousands of victims in the United States. Exactly how many victims of this “wonder drug” is unclear. What is clear, is that the reader should NOT rely on the story and accounts of Thalidomide as told by governments (including those of the U.S. and Germany) , agencies like the Department of Justice or FDA, and especially not the drug makers and those associated with the drug makers ( sales reps known as “detail men”). Most disturbing is the recklessness and lying by M.D.’s who handed this drug out knowing the risks and some even after large recalls and withdrawal of the pills in Germany. Even journalists have led us astray and lied to us in trying to explain and publicize the injustices here. The reader will feel outrage with what the German drug firm Chemie Grunenthal unleashed into the world in the 1950’s. No less criminal, were the actions by Cincinnati based drug company Merrell Company. Thank God for novelist and journalist Vanderbes for sticking with this story and capturing it in a very understandable book. Not too heavy on data or chemistry but full of deceit and bad people. So many bad characters, it’s hard to decide who to have the most outrage at. A few heroes are part of the story, including a handful of politicians and investigators with the FDA that kept pushing for answers. Any heroes though are over shadowed by the bad players and you will be left with a feeling that it is not safe to take another pill- over the counter or prescribed - ever again. The author balances the story of the culprits with inspirational stories of the limbless and deformed that were left to die as worthless (and for dead) by some of their own parents and many medical professionals “caring” for them.
December 22, 2024
I've started a Substack on the history of myeloma, a rare cancer of the plasma cells, which I hope will help me in writing a history in lay language. Here is a link to my thoughts about this remarkable book, but from a narrow point of view.
This is one of best non-fiction books I've read in quite some time.
This is one of best non-fiction books I've read in quite some time.
June 30, 2023
Fascinating, compassionate, UNFLINCHINGLY FEMINIST (I’ll add), and written with incredible storytelling chops. Unputdownable (said Elizabeth in the middle of a work day reading WD instead). Love this book. A must read.
November 27, 2024
Jennifer Vanderbes did a heroic job of getting to the bottom of a tangled web of medical and pharmaceutical malfeasance. A powerful and truly rewarding read.
August 4, 2023
Wonder drug is a book about the unsung heroes who exposed an unregulated drug called Thalidomide which when taken by pregnant women in the early 1960"s, caused birth defects in their children. I first learned about the impact of this drug through a short documentary I saw in the 1980's. There were many heroes who spoke up but Frances Kelsey, was a FDA medical reviewer and she single-handedly kept Thalidomide off the American market. She was the only doctor to recognize the danger by reviewing in detail the scientific paperwork. Unbeknownst to many, the drug had been distributed in the U.S. by a huge marketing push of samples by "Detail Men." The greed of big Pharma rears its ugly head again here and even the Sackler Brothers make an appearance because they developed drugs and published favorable research papers in their very own medical journals. This is an example of misuse of vertical integration. William S. Merrell Company s the drug company here who were the distributors. Thalidomide had been created by a Nazi-founded German pharmaceutical firm that bullied doctors and buried documents. Like many women and whistleblowers in general, Frances Kelsey as shunned, ignored and sidelined but ultimately she was successful in stopping this drug from being approved by the FDA. This book is meticulously researched and has over 100 interviews with an extensive list of stakeholders as well as documents/memos from the drug companies. Throughout there are quotes from the now adult children and families and the survivors have found each other and near the end of the book come together as a community. Just an incredible book and again affirms the importance of investigative journalism. I highly recommend this book.
Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for an ARC and I left this review voluntarily.
Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for an ARC and I left this review voluntarily.
July 5, 2023
--I received a copy of this book on exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are purely my own and not influenced in any way.--
This is admittedly one of those books that's really difficult to review because, frankly, I don't have much to say beyond "If you are interested in history in any way, get this book", so I'm going to try my best with this one to be a little more specific. I'm a huge history buff, so when I saw this book, I knew I had to read it. I'm so glad I did, as this is SUCH a well researched book that goes far beyond the story of thalidomide that we all probably know and goes into the far darker story behind it. This is not a happy book -but history rarely is- though the book never veers off into being so bleak that you don't want to keep reading. On the contrary: there's a thread of hope for everyone impacted by this horrific drug, and that's one of my favorite things about this book: it actually gives those affected by the drug a voice, as opposed to treating them like a statistic. I cannot overstate how unbelievably well researched this is, and I haven't had a biography hit me like this since "Radium Girls" by Kate Moore.
I'm likely rambling at this point, so I'll just say this: if this topic interests you even a little bit, you will more than get your money's worth with this one. 5/5 stars
This is admittedly one of those books that's really difficult to review because, frankly, I don't have much to say beyond "If you are interested in history in any way, get this book", so I'm going to try my best with this one to be a little more specific. I'm a huge history buff, so when I saw this book, I knew I had to read it. I'm so glad I did, as this is SUCH a well researched book that goes far beyond the story of thalidomide that we all probably know and goes into the far darker story behind it. This is not a happy book -but history rarely is- though the book never veers off into being so bleak that you don't want to keep reading. On the contrary: there's a thread of hope for everyone impacted by this horrific drug, and that's one of my favorite things about this book: it actually gives those affected by the drug a voice, as opposed to treating them like a statistic. I cannot overstate how unbelievably well researched this is, and I haven't had a biography hit me like this since "Radium Girls" by Kate Moore.
I'm likely rambling at this point, so I'll just say this: if this topic interests you even a little bit, you will more than get your money's worth with this one. 5/5 stars
July 8, 2024
I wonder what it says about me, the American government, the FDA, and media stories that my reaction to the blurb was "wait, the story is that there wasn't Thalidomide in the US?". Is it distrust in bureaucratic systems intended to protect actually working, is it the slow leak of truth throughout my lifetime, is it my knowledge of the pharmacology industry and clinical trials and the knowledge that just because something wasn't "sold" or "approved" by the FDA doesn't mean it was never distributed?
It's interesting reading this having read Empire of Pain and seeing, once again, a direct result of the flagrant lies and harm that comes of letting pharmaceutical companies run marketing campaigns, form lobby groups, work closely with the FDA to speed up approvals, and prioritize sales before potential harm (and the fact that it can come down to Arthur Sackler, who, of course, has a marketing finger in this pie). A number of protections did come about because of this, namely ones involving patient consent and informed consent in setting up clinical trials, as well as requiring fetal studies, but they do all rest on the bodies of survivors (and those who didn't survive) and the tireless resistance against systems that wanted to just sweep them under the rug.
Time and time again we see that while on paper, systems are there to protect patients and victims if something goes wrong, in reality capitalism and profits and the potential for future profits win out the day.
As a book, this is intensely researched and interviewed, and while not the most gripping medical non-fiction thriller I've read, there are plenty of moments to make you yell WHAT (everyone pretending like a drug developed by Nazi scientists had a robust safety profile and totally legit records, for one). There are parts of it that I'm not sure how much the true horror or impact gets across if you haven't been steeped in things like pharmacology or clinical trials or patient safety or this story, but the story on its own is fascinating enough to earn it a recommendation for everyone
It's interesting reading this having read Empire of Pain and seeing, once again, a direct result of the flagrant lies and harm that comes of letting pharmaceutical companies run marketing campaigns, form lobby groups, work closely with the FDA to speed up approvals, and prioritize sales before potential harm (and the fact that it can come down to Arthur Sackler, who, of course, has a marketing finger in this pie). A number of protections did come about because of this, namely ones involving patient consent and informed consent in setting up clinical trials, as well as requiring fetal studies, but they do all rest on the bodies of survivors (and those who didn't survive) and the tireless resistance against systems that wanted to just sweep them under the rug.
Time and time again we see that while on paper, systems are there to protect patients and victims if something goes wrong, in reality capitalism and profits and the potential for future profits win out the day.
As a book, this is intensely researched and interviewed, and while not the most gripping medical non-fiction thriller I've read, there are plenty of moments to make you yell WHAT (everyone pretending like a drug developed by Nazi scientists had a robust safety profile and totally legit records, for one). There are parts of it that I'm not sure how much the true horror or impact gets across if you haven't been steeped in things like pharmacology or clinical trials or patient safety or this story, but the story on its own is fascinating enough to earn it a recommendation for everyone
July 9, 2023
Over the years I have spent time frustrated as I tried to find information on this event. My dad is a thalidomide baby born in rural Michigan in December 1962. Most articles only praise the work of Francis Kelsey who stopped thalidomide from being sold in the United States. While this is something to be so thankful for as it saved thousands from experiencing the effects, it's hard to find articles that discuss the hundreds of thousands of samples that were given, how the government tried to hide and protect themselves and doctors from any blame, and how it was still being given out as samples marked as sleeping pills for years after it was discovered to hurt babies in the womb. This isn't something that just happened in other countries. It happened here too.
"Jennifer Vanderbes set out to write about this FDA success story only to discover a sinister truth that had been buried for decades: For more than five years, several American pharmaceutical firms had distributed unmarked thalidomide samples in shoddy clinical trials, reaching tens of thousands of unwitting patients, including hundreds of pregnant women. "
"Jennifer Vanderbes set out to write about this FDA success story only to discover a sinister truth that had been buried for decades: For more than five years, several American pharmaceutical firms had distributed unmarked thalidomide samples in shoddy clinical trials, reaching tens of thousands of unwitting patients, including hundreds of pregnant women. "
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