Düsseldorf neurologist Dr. Ralph Voss now knew of five cases of nerve damage he believed were caused by Contergan (Thalidomide). He informed Grünenthal about those five cases in a letter on April 4, 1960. He also announced that he would talk about the nerve damage and the connection to Contergan at an upcoming neurologist congress in Düsseldorf.

Dr. Günther Sievers (in charge of Thalidomide within Grünenthal’s medical and scientific department), concerned about the upcoming public announcement, visited Dr. Voss on April 7, trying to convince him to “employ measured language.” According to the indictment, Sievers doesn’t even deny the nerve damage.

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), p. 86.