For the first time in 50 years, German pharmaceutical companies apologized to victims of thalidomide use

Gruenenthal, a German pharmaceutical company, has finally bowed its head to apologize to victims who were disabled 50 years ago by taking thalidomide, the company's drug, AP reported In the 1950s and 1960s, thalidomide, as a powerful sedative, was sold in Germany as well as other European countries, Australia, Canada and Japan under the trade name of "contergan" to relieve pregnancy sickness In 1961, the drug was removed from the market after the discovery of congenital defects in the development of infants' vision, hearing, limbs, heart and genitalia caused by the use of thalidomide by their mothers Over the past 50 years, some victims have been suing grantai for compensation However, in addition to stopping the sale of drugs and expressing regret to the victims, Granta has always refused to accept the relevant responsibility, and has always delayed to make a statement on the grounds that "the side effects of drugs need to be confirmed by long-term clinical trials", and has kept silent on this matter for 50 years During this period, although grantai also provided 150 million euros of rescue funds for more than 3000 German victims, the money was not enough to support these victims for life After 50 years, halad stoke, chief executive of grantai, has solemnly apologized to his mother recently In his statement of apology, stoke said, "we have not found a way to provide humanitarian assistance to the victims for 50 years, and here we ask your forgiveness The reason why we have been silent for a long time is that we do not know what to say about the consequences, and we believe that the victims can understand this." As a supplement to the apology, a bronze statue has been set up in Stolberg, a small western city where Grant's headquarters is located The statue is a child without limbs due to thalidomide The German thalidomide victims' organization was named "sick child" as a memorial Some of the victims didn't pay for Grant's apology for being late A victim of thalidomide's disability in the UK said apologizing 50 years later was a shame for grant "Over the years, grant has insisted that they did nothing wrong and refused to negotiate with us." It is understood that thalidomide is still on sale, but not as a pregnant emetic, but as a drug for the treatment of multiple myeloma, bone cancer and leprosy Medical people believe that if the conditions are met, the drug may be used for the treatment of AIDS, arthritis and other cancers in the future