Thalidomide and the Power of the Drug Companies

A Penguin Special 1972

Authors: Henning Nilsson and Robert Sjostrom

Review by Sir Bill Connor

It is some years since I read the above book written, I believe, by a Swedish lawyer and a research chemist but it made a terrific impact on my consciousness as to the power of the drug companies.

It concerns the background and circumstances which led to the Thalidomide scandal in which the drug was responsible for birth defects in many thousands of children.

Problems with the drug were identified in clinical trials before the drug was put on release but the company concerned, Chemie Grunenthal, went to extraordinary lengths to conceal this information. They carried out a systematic campaign of character assassination against one of the research chemists who had identified these dangers. They delved into his background to show his father had been an active member of the Communist Party and raked up everything they could from his past ( the research chemist ) to discredit his findings. They did everything they could to ensure he became a broken man.

It was also revealed by the two researchers that the average spend by the big drug companies on research and development was something like 1.6% whilst costs for sales advertising was 15%.
This is a compelling read for anyone who wants to gain an insight into the operations of the drug companies and how they are able to use their immense resources to ensure their investment is protected, even when there may be dangers to the health of many thousands of innocent people.

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Thalidomide and the Power of the Drug Companies (A Penguin special)