NO LimitsThalidomideStory.com

is a film about Thalidomide, a drug made by Grünenthal which severely disabled thousands of babies in the 60's and caused the worst pharmaceutical scandal in history.
"NO Limits" A film by John Zaritsky now on Amazon Prime
  • THALIDOMIDER STORIES
  • ABOUT THE DRUG THALIDOMIDE
  • ABOUT GRÜNENTHAL
  • OTHER NOTABLES
  • TIMELINE
  • FILM
  • RESOURCES
  • THALIDOMIDER STORIES
    • Thalidomiders
      • Alvin Law
        • Rejected at birth
        • My life became this life
        • Why do I need arms?
        • I love driving!
        • Building character
        • This is how I do things
        • Motivational Speaker
        • Alvin Law Bio
      • Eileen Cronin
        • Four Leaf Clover
        • Love at first sight
        • Artificial Limbs
        • Eileen Cronin Bio
      • Niko von Glasow
        • A timid child
        • Becoming a director
        • Time to look the devil in the asshole
        • Nobody's Perfect
        • The most important thing
        • It's good to be rich!
        • Niko von Glasow Bio
      • Louise Mason
        • Growing Up
        • Bullying
        • Marriage
        • Louise Mason Bio
      • Jan Schulte-Hillen
        • Just forget about him
        • We had a lot of fun
        • Son, do your own thing.
        • Jan Schulte-Hillen Bio
      • Lynette Rowe
        • A deadly silence
        • Caring for Lynnette
        • A class action law suit
        • Lynette Rowe Bio
      • Paul Murphy
        • Doctors pressured to use Thalidomide
        • A breach birth
        • Bring that baby home!
        • Troubled teenage years
        • There's always a solution
        • Paul Murphy Bio
      • Monika Eisenberg
        • I had to fight to survive
        • My mother and me
        • Hadamar - a dark shadow
        • No Boundaries
        • Monika Eisenberg and "minor guilt"
        • Remembering the victims
        • Monika Eisenberg Bio
  • ABOUT THE DRUG THALIDOMIDE
    • Why Thalidomide?
      • It was supposed to be Safe
      • Grünenthal Sales Motto "Succeed at any cost"
      • Their apology came from their lawyers
    • Distribution & Marketing
      • Canada
      • Australia and New Zealand
      • Austria
      • Brazil
      • Germany
      • United Kingdom
      • Italy
      • Ireland
      • Japan
      • Spain
      • Sweden
      • United States
    • Current Uses
      • A new treatment for leprosy
      • Thalidomide and Leprosy
      • A huge Thalidomide comeback
      • Celgene and Thalidomide
      • Thalidomide a big money maker
    • Reaction To The Crisis
      • "Wonder drug" or baby killer?
      • Reminiscent of the Nazi era
      • Thalidomide babies killed
      • Better drug safety laws implemented
      • Germany
      • Germany - "A Single Pill"
      • Canada
      • United Kingdom
      • USA
      • Australia
      • A Cautionary Tale
  • ABOUT GRÜNENTHAL
    • Company History
      • From Soap to Thalidomide
      • Ex-Nazis find a home at Grünenthal
      • Sales at all Costs
      • Minor Guilt for a Major Catastrophe
      • Contergan exposed by Morley Safer
    • 1968 German Trial
      • Grünenthal's founder evades trial
      • 1960's German justice-a banana republic?
      • 1968 German trial tactics
      • Grünenthal claims "minor guilt"
      • Unveiling the German trial documents
    • 2012 Apology
      • Grünenthal finally apologizes
      • Grünenthal's 2012 Apology
      • Reactions to Grünenthal apology
      • Apology comes from the heart
      • A bronze statue
      • A visit to the statue
  • OTHER NOTABLES
    • Historical Figures
      • Frances Kelsey
      • William McBride
      • Widukind Lenz
      • Carl-Hermann
      • Hermann Wirtz, SR
      • Heinrich Mückter
      • Otto Ambros
    • Others
      • Michael Magazanik
      • Martin Johnson
      • Peter Gordon
      • Linde Schulte-Hillen
      • Sir Harold Evans
  • TIMELINE
    • TIMELINE
      • 1939: Scientists discover that a drug can pass through the placenta and damage a fetus
      • 1946: Chemie Grünenthal GmbH is founded
      • 1947: Grünenthal mainly manufactures antibiotics
      • Winter, 1954: Keller and Kunz synthesize new compound later to be called Thalidomide
      • April, 1954: Grünenthal obtains a 20 year patent for K 17
      • 1955: Thalidomide or K17 is tested on animals
      • 1955: Thalidomide or K 17 is tested on humans
      • June, 1955: K 17 “is ready to go on the market”
      • October 21, 1955: An expert recommends that tests should be done over a period of at least 9 to 12 months
      • December 15, 1955: Thalidomide is a substance without “undesirable side effects”
      • March, 1956: Dr. Piacenza writes about “light paresthesia” (“pins and needles”) in connection with K 17
      • July 10, 1956: The NRW Department of Health approves the sale drugs containing of Thalidomide
      • August, 1956: Paper on thalidomide talks about its “sedative effect” and its “extreme non-toxicity”
      • December 25, 1956: The first known Thalidomide baby is born
      • July 5, 1957: Grünenthal asks Bonn University prof to include K 17 in pregnant women test
      • September 2, 1957: Thalidomide gets the name “Contergan” for the German market
      • September 26, 1957: Ads about Contergan are to focus on its sensational “absolute non-­toxicity” and “safeness”
      • October 1, 1957: Contergan is put on the West-German market
      • December, 1957: “Unrest and states of excitements” cease to be mentioned
      • 1958: Contergan is highly advertised
      • 1958: Thalidomide sample pills distributed in the US
      • March 3, 1958: Doctors complain about the wording “absolute non-toxic”
      • April, 1958: Thalidomide sold in Great Britain under the trade-name Distaval
      • August 1, 1958: Grünenthal uses unrelated test results to promote the safety of Thalidomide for pregnant women
      • August 26, 1958: Report on difficulties in walking
      • 1959: Growing critical voices
      • 1959: Thalidomide under brand names is available as samples in Canada
      • January, 1959: Thalidomide is advertised in a journal about obstetrics and gynecology
      • January, 1959: 1959 - USA
      • March, 1959: Complaints about cold feet and hands
      • June 23, 1959: 1959 - Canada
      • July 14, 1959: A consumer believes his paresthesia is connected to Contergan
      • August, 1959: More cases of polyneuritis
      • August 17, 1959: Grünenthal doesn’t take growing number of complaints seriously
      • October 3, 1959: Dr. Voss alerts Grünenthal about nerve damage
      • October 15, 1959: Sievers and Werner are lying again
      • November 27, 1959: Voss informs Grünenthal about more cases of polyneuritis and clearly warns about a possible toxicity
      • November 27, 1959: More warnings on that same day
      • December 30, 1959: Dr. Werner and Dr. Sievers lie again
      • January 14, 1960: Contergan is “devil’s work”
      • February 23, 1960: “Contergan causes damage”, according to a neurologist
      • March 1, 1960: Contergan is the most-sold sedative in Germany
      • March 8, 1960: Once again Grünenthal denies having heard of cases of polyneuritis.
      • April, 1960: A Grünenthal representative starts visiting the Ministry of Interior in NRW
      • April, 1960: Grünenthal visits Voss trying to influence him
      • April 14, 1960: Dr. Mückter says “everything needs to be done to prevent the prescription requirement”
      • May 1, 1960: Neurologist Voss publicly talks about nerve damage
      • Summer, 1960: June to October 1960
      • August 10, 1960: Linde Schulte-Hillen takes one pill of Contergan
      • September 8, 1960: 1960 Canada
      • September 12, 1960: 1960 USA
      • Fall, 1960: Defendants assume the “likeliness” of the nerve damaging effects of Contergan
      • October, 1960: Some hospitals stop giving out Thalidomide
      • November, 1960: The net sales revenue for Contergan reaches 1,215,600 Marks
      • November, 1960: A note that warns about nerve damage is included in the instruction leaflet
      • November 17, 1960: “For Contergan we fight to the last breath.”
      • November 22, 1960: Notice of compliance from the Canadian Food and Drug Directorate
      • November 24, 1960: Pharmacist inquires about malformations
      • December, 1960: "Everything is done to protect our ‘eyeball’"
      • December 31, 1960: First publication about Thalidomide and nerve damage
      • 1961: McBride informs Distillers about three malformed babies born in his care
      • January, 1961: Contergan sales in Germany reach their highest point
      • January, 1961: Certainty that Contergan is responsible for nerve damage
      • January 16, 1961: Negative articles about Contergan "are to be prevented"
      • January 17, 1961: Grünenthal suppresses knowledge of reports about damaged babies and children
      • February 15, 1961: Voss thinks nerve damage is irreversible
      • February 27, 1961: Dr. Sievers and Dr. Werner say Contergan doesn’t cause damage
      • March, 1961: Kelsey reads Florence’s letter in the British Medical Journal
      • April 1, 1961: Thalidomide enters Canadian market
      • April 21, 1961: A Grünenthal sales rep makes fun of patients at psychiatric ward who do not notice their nerve damage
      • May, 1961: Dr. Frenkel and others publish articles about nerve damage caused by Contergan
      • May 11, 1961: Kelsey asks if Thalidomide can harm a fetus
      • May 26, 1961: Grünenthal revises package leaflet for Thalidomide
      • June, 1961: Lenz and Schulte-Hillen collect evidence in Northern Germany
      • June 26, 1961: Prescription requirement for Thalidomide containing preparations recommended
      • June 27, 1961: Randolph Reginald Warren is born
      • Summer, 1961: Grünenthal wonders if Thalidomide can pass the placenta
      • August 1, 1961: Prescription requirement is introduced, but only in three federal states
      • August 16, 1961: Grünenthal pays compensation to patients with nerve damage
      • September, 1961: The first article about the increasing numbers of malformed babies is published
      • September 26, 1961: FDA wants pregnancy warning included in instruction leaflet
      • October, 1961: Grünenthal informed about a malformation on a newborn possibly connected to Thalidomide
      • October, 1961: Contergan likely responsible for the malformations
      • October 3, 1961: Thalidomide disturbs bone growth in chickens
      • November 15, 1961: Lenz phones Grünenthal, demanding Thalidomide be taken off the market immediately
      • November 17, 1961: Dr. Lenz sends summary of his observations to Grünenthal
      • November 19, 1961: Lenz publicly talks about his suspicion
      • November 20, 1961: Grünenthal executives meet with Lenz in Hamburg
      • November 20, 1961: Grünenthal sends out 66,957 letters to doctors saying their drug was safe.
      • November 24, 1961: Grünenthal is informed about McBride’s warnings in Australia
      • November 25, 1961: The Ministry of the Interior informs several offices in Germany about the new suspicion against Thalidomide
      • November 26, 1961: The newspaper article that finally makes Grünenthal act is published
      • November 27, 1961: Withdrawal of Thalidomide from the West German market
      • November 30, 1961: Experts believe Thalidomide is responsible for malformations
      • December, 1961: By end of 1961, 1800 cases of nerve damage reported to Grünenthal
      • December 1, 1961: Criminal charges against Grünenthal are filed in Hanover
      • December 2, 1961: Distillers takes Thalidomide off the market in the UK and Australia
      • December 5, 1961: Thalidomide stays on the Canadian market for another four months
      • December 16, 1961: The prosecution in Aachen starts its criminal investigation proceedings
      • 1962: Scientists demonstrate teratogenicity
      • February, 1962: Times Magazine reports Thalidomide still available in Canada
      • March 2, 1962: Thalidomide removed from the market in Canada
      • May, 1962: UK government warning issued
      • July 4, 1962: Grünenthal still denies any connection between Thalidomide and malformations
      • August 7, 1962: Kelsey presented award by JFK
      • August 9, 1962: Thalidomide Society is formed by parents in Britain
      • October 10, 1962: USA - Drug Amendments Act is passed
      • March 16, 1963: The Federal Association of Thalidomide Victims is founded
      • 1964: Thalidomide can be useful in treating leprosy patients
      • December, 1966: Josef Neuberger is appointed Minister of Justice in NRW
      • March 13, 1967: Aachen prosecutors file a suit against Grünenthal
      • 1968: Distillers offers modest settlement amounts to survivors in the UK
      • May 27, 1968: The trial begins in Alsdorf
      • August 12, 1968: Lenz testifies at the trial
      • July, 1969: Government interference in the German Thalidomide trial
      • October 10, 1969: Courts decides that Lenz’ testimony cannot be used
      • January 26, 1970: Grünenthal agrees to pay 100 Million Marks
      • April 10, 1970: A settlement is reached
      • December 18, 1970: The trial in Alsdorf ends without a verdict
      • March, 1971: Richardson-Merrel is sued in the US
      • September 24, 1972: UK Media campaigns
      • October 31, 1972: Disabled Children's Relief Foundation for People with Disabilities set up
      • 1973: Settlement package by Distillers
      • August 10, 1973: UK Thalidomide Children’s Trust established
      • April, 1974: The patent protection expires
      • January 1, 1978: The new German Drug Law comes into effect
      • December, 1987: Thalidomide Victims Association of Canada is formed
      • 1991: Canada-$21 million assistance package
      • 1993: UK-actuarial report
      • June, 1993: Reports on deformities in Brazil
      • December, 1996: USA - Celgene askes the FDA for permission to distribute Thalidomide
      • 1997: Compensation Grünenthal committed to in 1971 is used up
      • 1998: USA - FDA approves use to treat ENL
      • November, 2002: UK - Fight for a better deal for Thalidomiders
      • 2004: Application for Thalidomide to enter the European market
      • July, 2004: UK - Campaign to stop taxation on Thalidomide compensation
      • 2005: UK - Improved deal is reached with Diageo
      • August 19, 2005: The “Contergan Foundation” is renamed
      • 2006: Schulte-Hillen and Grünenthal try to prevent the broadcast of a TV movie about the Contergan scandal
      • 2006: USA - FDA approves Thalomid for treatment of multiple myeloma
      • 2007: Improved survival rates of bone-marrow cancer patients
      • November 7, 2007: The WDR broadcasts the movie “Eine Einzige Tablette”
      • December, 2007: First meeting - Grünenthal and the German Federal Association of Thalidomide Victims
      • 2008: EU approval for treatment of multiple myeloma
      • May, 2008: Grünenthal announces 50 Million Euros payment
      • 2009: UK - 20 million pound grant
      • June 29, 2009: The second amendment to the “Contergan Foundation Law” comes into effect
      • 2010: UK - formal apology to Thalidomide victims
      • July, 2010: 50 million Australian dollars paid to survivors
      • June, 2011: Grünenthal offers to reimburse “extraordinary” costs
      • June, 2011: Australia - Peter Gordon launches landmark international class action suit
      • October, 2011: First hearing of class action suit - Australia
      • December, 2011: Australian victims win right to have class action
      • July 19, 2012: Thalidomide settlement for Lynette Rowe
      • August 31, 2012: Grünenthal offers an apology
      • 2012: Grünenthal's 2012 Apology
      • December, 2012: Grünenthal establishes company-owned foundation
      • December, 2012: UK survivors to receive 80 million pounds
      • April, 2013: The German Bundestag significantly raises the monthly benefits
      • December, 2013: Australia and New Zealand award
      • December, 2014: Canada - motion 'to right the wrong'
      • March 6, 2015: Canadian government announces compensation package
    • Compensation
      • August 16, 1961: Grünenthal pays compensation to patients with nerve damage
      • November 30, 1961: Experts believe Thalidomide is responsible for malformations
      • December 1, 1961: Criminal charges against Grünenthal are filed in Hanover
      • December 16, 1961: The prosecution in Aachen starts its criminal investigation proceedings
      • July 4, 1962: Grünenthal still denies any connection between Thalidomide and malformations
      • August 9, 1962: Thalidomide Society is formed by parents in Britain