Dr. Karl Otto Vorlaender, a Bonn university lecturer and later a professor, was one of the doctors Grünenthal had approached about the clinical trials with K 17 (Thalidomide). Vorlaender explained to Grünenthal that tests like these needed to be conducted over a period of at least 9 to 12 months to get reliable results.

Dr. Vorlaender also suggested that Grünenthal hand over K 17 research to his superior, Prof. Martini, clinical director at the Bonn University Hospital, for more tests. Grünenthal didn’t take Dr. Vorlaender up on his offer. With its refusal of Prof. Martini’s expertise, Grünenthal missed the opportunity to get at least one head of an important university clinic in Germany involved in tests with K 17. Grünenthal did not want to wait 9 to 12 months for the test results.

Source: Anklageschrift (indictment) from 1967, today archived at the National Archives of North Rhine-Westphalia in Duisburg, Germany (Rheinland Division, Gerichte Rep. 139, No. 1–396), pp. 50-51.