Just a little white sleeping pill

This is the story about how a seemingly harmless little white sleeping pill by the name Neurosedyn could deform tens of thousands of children. The book follows Neurosedyn on its way from a pharmaceutical plant in post-war western Germany until this day. It portrays the mothers struggling for the right to keep their deformed children and the children’s often traumatic childhood. We also meet those in power who made the fatal decisions. The catastrophe became very important for the future. The attention around the Neurosedyn children led to a change in the way disabilities were seen. Children who had been hid away in institutions were allowed into regular schools. The fear of a repeat of the tragedy changed the authorities’ perspective on pharmaceuticals and patient safety. Talidomid, which is the active ingredient in Neurosedyn, caused the worst pharmaceutical catastrophe in our time. Despite this fact talidomid is once again a medicine seeking new diseases to cure. «Congratulations to one of the most important books that has been written. It must be read by everyone responsible for us having access to safe and effective medicines, but also by others who estimates risks with chemicals and other things that we encounter in our environment.» Professor Barbro Westerholm, former head of the national board of health and welfare. Boken finns också tillgänglig på svenska under titeln Bara en liten vit sömntablett.