William McBride (1927–2018) grew up near Sydney and did Medicine at Sydney University. Graduating in 1949, he did his residencies and went on to the University of London, sitting for exams at the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. On returning to Crown St Women’s Hospital in Sydney in 1955, he practised obstetrics, and earned an M.D. Dr McBride was soon appointed as medical superintendent at Crown St.
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From 1956, scientists tested Thalidomide/Distaval on healthy adults, anxious or sleepless patients, nursing mothers and mentally ill patients. Studies published in German medical journals reported 1] satisfaction with Thalidomide’s sedation and 2] few unwanted side effects. Women were prescribed Thalidomide without tests being done on pregnant laboratory animals, to get the drug on the market quickly, and it was first commercially marketed over-the-counter in 1957 in West Germany.
In 1960 a Distillers Co agent called Dr McBride in Sydney, marketing Thalidomide. The doctor agreed to try the drug on some patients, and was shocked in 1961 to deliver a baby with severe arm deformities. Within a few weeks, he delivered two more, all 3 dying.
It was Sr Pat Sparrow at Crown St who noticed that the limb defects were only in McBride's patients. At first he doubted her observations, but twice in Ap-Jul 1961 he contacted Distillers to suggest the drug’s association with malformations. The company ignored McBride and kept promoting the drug in Australia, to list on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.
A desperate McBride wrote an article for the important medical journal The Lancet 1961, warning of Thalidomide’s dangers. The article was rejected, but McBride wrote a letter in Dec 1961 which WAS published, asking if other obstetrician had noticed deformities in their Thalidomide babies. When confirmed, his findings led to many legal cases against Distillers. It also sparked a Sunday Times investigation which led to £20 million compensation for British victims in 1973. Then another £20 million in 2009.
In 1961 Dr Widukind Lenz (1919-95) was the first German doctor to recognise the problem. He and Dr McBride got together and alerted the world to potential malformations in pregnancy. By 1962, Dr Lenz had the drug quickly pulled from all German markets, nonetheless my generation of medical students still saw children born with missing or malformed limbs in the mid 1960s. Thalidomide affected c12,000 children worldwide, including hundreds in Australia. Although Dr McBride had bravely warned the world about Thalidomide, and won international acclaim for his research, the first Australasian Thalidomide victims struggled to win compensation.
His discovery was critical in protecting uterine life. And his warnings eventually led to the recommendation that NO drugs should be ingested by pregnant women. McBride was awarded a medal by L'Institut de la Vie, part of the French Academy in 1971. Using the $40,000 prize-money, he created Foundation 41, a Sydney-based medical research body examining the causes of birth defects in the first 41 weeks of life.
Working with Dr PH Huang, McBride proposed that Thalidomide caused malformations by interacting with the DNA of the dividing embryonic cells. This work was published in the Journal of Pharmacology & Toxicology, one of the top ten important Australian medical discoveries.
In the mid-1970s, Dr McBride's involvement in the Debendox aka Bendectin case was less welcome. He believed Debendox, another anti-nausea medication, also caused birth defects. There was little evidence to back his claims, but McBride testified against the American company anyhow. In 1981 he published a paper on experiments on rabbits with hyoscine, a Debendox component, supporting his hypothesis. Other researchers said that McBride’s published paper used manipulated data.
The manufacturer defended Debendox in multiple lawsuits in the US, Britain and Australasia. Dr McBride happily appeared as an expert witness against Merrell Dow Co. in some cases, supporting the plaintiffs. Merrell Dow took Debendox off the market in 1983, maintaining that it was safe, but saying that making it was no longer cost effective.
In 1982 he published his work in a scientific journal suggesting scopolamine, which he said was similar to Debendox, should not be taken in early pregnancy as it caused birth defects in rabbits. This claim proved to be his undoing; even Dr Lenz testified against Dr McBride.
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In 1987, medical journalist Dr Norman Swan, in an analysis for ABC’s Science Show, found that Dr McBride had failed to properly record the amount of drug the rabbits received, its timing in pregnancy etc. [The evidence came from Foundation 41 biologists]. Swan won a Walkley Award for his research; McBride’s career moved in the other direction.
In 1988 an investigative committee found that McBride published statements which he did not genuinely believe to be true and thus was guilty of scientific fraud. He resigned as Foundation 41’s Medical Director but donations to Foundation 41 dropped off and forced it to close.
Dr McBride was called to the Medical Tribunal of NSW to face 7 counts of research fraud and negligence charges. The medical disciplinary proceedings continued from 1989-93!! Eventually he was cleared of misconduct but found guilty of scientific fraud; they struck him off the Australian medical register in 1993.
Dr McBride was re-registered in 1998, with the right to practise medicine but NOT to do research. For years he’d been a hero, with headlines proclaiming his vital work, and awards: Man of the Year 1962, Commander of British Empire 1969; Father of the Year 1972 and Order of Australia 1977. Then a fall from grace!
McBride: Behind the Myth by Bill Nicol, 1989 is very sad but fascinating. Thanks for the guest post by Dr Joe
Dr McBride in the research lab
BBC
In 1960 a Distillers Co agent called Dr McBride in Sydney, marketing Thalidomide. The doctor agreed to try the drug on some patients, and was shocked in 1961 to deliver a baby with severe arm deformities. Within a few weeks, he delivered two more, all 3 dying.
It was Sr Pat Sparrow at Crown St who noticed that the limb defects were only in McBride's patients. At first he doubted her observations, but twice in Ap-Jul 1961 he contacted Distillers to suggest the drug’s association with malformations. The company ignored McBride and kept promoting the drug in Australia, to list on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.
A desperate McBride wrote an article for the important medical journal The Lancet 1961, warning of Thalidomide’s dangers. The article was rejected, but McBride wrote a letter in Dec 1961 which WAS published, asking if other obstetrician had noticed deformities in their Thalidomide babies. When confirmed, his findings led to many legal cases against Distillers. It also sparked a Sunday Times investigation which led to £20 million compensation for British victims in 1973. Then another £20 million in 2009.
In 1961 Dr Widukind Lenz (1919-95) was the first German doctor to recognise the problem. He and Dr McBride got together and alerted the world to potential malformations in pregnancy. By 1962, Dr Lenz had the drug quickly pulled from all German markets, nonetheless my generation of medical students still saw children born with missing or malformed limbs in the mid 1960s. Thalidomide affected c12,000 children worldwide, including hundreds in Australia. Although Dr McBride had bravely warned the world about Thalidomide, and won international acclaim for his research, the first Australasian Thalidomide victims struggled to win compensation.
His discovery was critical in protecting uterine life. And his warnings eventually led to the recommendation that NO drugs should be ingested by pregnant women. McBride was awarded a medal by L'Institut de la Vie, part of the French Academy in 1971. Using the $40,000 prize-money, he created Foundation 41, a Sydney-based medical research body examining the causes of birth defects in the first 41 weeks of life.
Working with Dr PH Huang, McBride proposed that Thalidomide caused malformations by interacting with the DNA of the dividing embryonic cells. This work was published in the Journal of Pharmacology & Toxicology, one of the top ten important Australian medical discoveries.
In the mid-1970s, Dr McBride's involvement in the Debendox aka Bendectin case was less welcome. He believed Debendox, another anti-nausea medication, also caused birth defects. There was little evidence to back his claims, but McBride testified against the American company anyhow. In 1981 he published a paper on experiments on rabbits with hyoscine, a Debendox component, supporting his hypothesis. Other researchers said that McBride’s published paper used manipulated data.
The manufacturer defended Debendox in multiple lawsuits in the US, Britain and Australasia. Dr McBride happily appeared as an expert witness against Merrell Dow Co. in some cases, supporting the plaintiffs. Merrell Dow took Debendox off the market in 1983, maintaining that it was safe, but saying that making it was no longer cost effective.
In 1982 he published his work in a scientific journal suggesting scopolamine, which he said was similar to Debendox, should not be taken in early pregnancy as it caused birth defects in rabbits. This claim proved to be his undoing; even Dr Lenz testified against Dr McBride.
Thalidomide affected arms and hands
ABC
In 1987, medical journalist Dr Norman Swan, in an analysis for ABC’s Science Show, found that Dr McBride had failed to properly record the amount of drug the rabbits received, its timing in pregnancy etc. [The evidence came from Foundation 41 biologists]. Swan won a Walkley Award for his research; McBride’s career moved in the other direction.
In 1988 an investigative committee found that McBride published statements which he did not genuinely believe to be true and thus was guilty of scientific fraud. He resigned as Foundation 41’s Medical Director but donations to Foundation 41 dropped off and forced it to close.
Dr McBride was called to the Medical Tribunal of NSW to face 7 counts of research fraud and negligence charges. The medical disciplinary proceedings continued from 1989-93!! Eventually he was cleared of misconduct but found guilty of scientific fraud; they struck him off the Australian medical register in 1993.
Dr McBride was re-registered in 1998, with the right to practise medicine but NOT to do research. For years he’d been a hero, with headlines proclaiming his vital work, and awards: Man of the Year 1962, Commander of British Empire 1969; Father of the Year 1972 and Order of Australia 1977. Then a fall from grace!
McBride: Behind the Myth by Bill Nicol, 1989 is very sad but fascinating. Thanks for the guest post by Dr Joe