British Gov. to Pay $32.3 Million to Victims of Thalidomide
Hundreds of people in the United Kingdom who were victims of the drug thalidomide will be paid part of a $32.3 million trust fund established by the British government.
Thalidomide was prescribed to pregnant women in the late 1950s and early 1960s to treat morning sickness and sleeplessness. However, it was later found to cause limb deformities and other types of birth defects in children born to women given the drug. Sales of the drug in the U.K. were halted in 1961 because of the birth defects link.
While it is not known exactly how many birth defects cases may be linked to thalidomide, worldwide estimates range from 10,000 to 20,000 victims.
The British government said it will establish a trust fund to compensate women who were injured by thalidomide, according to a UPI news report. The money will be paid out by the Department of Trust over three years to 463 surviving thalidomide victims in the UK, officials said.
Distillers Biochemicals, the manufacturer of thalidomide, previously agreed to pay $45.2 million to victims of the drug, ending a long legal battle with former users.
Thalidomide is still approved in the United States for treating erythema nodosum leprosum, an inflammatory complication of leprosy that results in painful skin lesions on the arms and legs and face, and certain types of cancer, including multiple myeloma.
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A £20m government payout and an apology may help the victims of one of the biggest ever medical scandals to engulf the drugs industry to recover the dignity so far denied to them.The German Government did not even apologise on behalf of previous administrations for the distress caused by the drug, even though many of the scandal’s victims are unable to work and require specially adapted homes and cars.