Thalidomide

Thalidomide is a class of drugs used in the early 1960s as a sedative, as well as medication to alleviate morning sickness in pregnant woman. It was withdrawn from the UK market due to horrific side effects, whereby the offspring of the mother who had taken thalidomide were born with serious physical deformities, such as malformed or completely absent limbs and extremities.

The deformities in the children were caused by the mixture of the L-form and D-form of the thalidomide molecule. The L-form was safe and worked effectively as a drug, but the D-form was harmful and caused the deformities. Due to modern technology, scientists have been able to isolate and distribute the safe form of thalidomide, and it is now prescribed as a form of cancer treatment.