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LITIGATION
Drug blamed for a broader range of harmful effects.
In a new twist of a historic tragedy, 13 Americans who say they are survivors of thalidomide are suing four companies for producing and distributing the notorious drug. They say that the drug - used by pregnant women for morning sickness until it was discovered to cause severe birth defects - affected more people in the United States than thought, and caused a wider range of deformities. And, they say, the companies have done all they can to hide these facts.
Thalidomide's devastating effects first came to light 50 years ago this month in the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag. In Europe, the drug was implicated in thousands of cases of malformed newborns, but in the United States the damage was limited because the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) refused to approve it for market. Until now, most US cases were thought to originate from thalidomide obtained abroad.
The lawsuit, filed in a Philadelphia court on 25 October, asserts that before thalidomide was pulled from markets around the world,...