As the evidence grew and the full horror of the tragedy unfolded, Merrell quietly withdrew the new drug application in March 1962.


Frenzied public response


Four months later, the media circus around Kelsey began with an article above the fold on the front page of the Washington Post. T is piece, carrying a prominent photo of Kelsey, declared her the “Heroine of FDA”. T e article, which elevated Kelsey to virtual civic sainthood, was engineered by advocates of drug regulatory reform—an astute political move that served to raise the temperature of the debate and to create a public appetite for change. Now events shiſt ed gear.


Momentum growing, the following month there was a call in Congress for Kelsey to be honoured, and remarkably this was realised in less than a week, when President John F. Kennedy presented Kelsey with the


Distinguished Federal Civilian Service Medal at a highly publicised White House ceremony on August 7, 1962, 48 hours aſt er Marilyn was found dead.


T e spotlight was now on thalidomide, the FDA and everyone concerned. T ousands of column inches were fi lled with analysis and interviews but not everyone was optimistic about the proposal of tougher new pharmaceutical regulation.


With the prospect of greater control oſt en comes outrage from those who will be


controlled. John Osmundsen reported on the front page of theNew York Times that “many medical authorities” in the US were


“concerned that what some call the ‘frenzied public response to the thalidomide episode’ may adversely aff ect the nation’s drug laws”. T eir concerns stemmed from the greater controls and accountabilities that they could


WINTER 2014


PHOTO: REUTERS


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