Wonder Drug: The Secret History of Thalidomide in America and Its Hidden Victims

A page-turning account of the most notorious drug of the 20th 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 as soon as the application for thalidomide landed on Frances Kelsey’s desk at the FDA in 1960, she grew suspicious of the paperwork.  When Kelsey then learned that the drug was causing terrible 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 widely distributed thalidomide samples, reaching tens of thousands of unwitting patients, including hundreds of pregnant women. What’s more, the German pharmaceutical firm that had first patented the drug was founded by former Nazis.

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 abnormalities.

Now, for the first time, this shocking episode in American history is brought to light. Wonder Drug gives voice to the unrecognized victims of this epic scandal and exposes the deceptive practices of Big Pharma that continue to endanger lives today.