


Thalidomide

Throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s, Thalidomide was marketed as a treatment for anxiety, insomnia, tension, and morning sickness during pregnancy. While initially considered safe, the medication led to thousands of miscarriages and more than 10,000 children being born with malformed limbs. Deemed to be the cause of the largest man‐made medical disaster in history, the medication was taken off the market in 1961.