Hey there, it's Stephen Dubner. Last week we brought you part one of the re-broadcast of our

Bad Medicine series. Today, part two, it's called Drug Trials and Tribulations, and it starts right now.

In the mid-20th century, an exciting new drug hit the market.

It's a small molecule that was produced in West Germany in the late 50s and early 60s.

It was a sedative, but not a barbiturate, so it wasn't addictive, didn't clash with alcohol or

other drugs, and, according to its manufacturer, was entirely safe. They based this claim on the

fact that no matter how much of it, they fed the lab rats. The rats did not die. Once this new

sleeping pill was made available, doctors discovered it did more than help people sleep.

It would combat for pregnant women morning sickness. And so pregnant women all over the world

were given the drug. It was called Philidamide. The problem was the Philidamide would actually cross

the placenta and impact the baby, and it would cause a whole series of malformations and probably

a lot of fetal deaths. Fetal deaths were thought to number at least 10,000. Among the babies who

survived, there were serious birth defects. Children that survived were deaf and blind had a number

of disabilities. They had a shortened or lacked limbs. Babies born with horribly malformed limbs,

with missing or malfunctioning organs, because of the putatively super safe drug their mothers took

to prevent morning sickness. Philidamide was on the market for roughly five years before it was

banned. Its German manufacturer, Kemi Gruninthal, first denied the disaster side effects before

ultimately accepting blame. The history of medicine is full of tragic missteps, but Philidamide,

coming as it did during a boom in global mass media, made more noise than most.

A problem of tighter controls to prevent the distribution of dangerous drugs, such as

Philidamide, is a matter of concern to the president at his news conference. Concern over the

tragic effects of the new sedative, Philidamide, prompt President Kennedy. Already more than 7,000

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