Frankie: The Woman Who Saved Millions from Thalidomide

Thalidomide: patented in Germany as a non-toxic cure-all for sleeplessness and morning sickness; a wonder drug with no side effects. The devastation this drug caused is boundless, the unborn victims of its neurotoxins left with deformities and without limbs, sometimes never to be born at all. In the UK, it took hundreds of foetal deaths and abnormalities to lead to the drug’s withdrawal, but in the US one woman stood in the way of Big Phrama and prevented catastrophe. Here James Essinger and Sandra Koutzenko explore the devastating world history of thalidomide, its development, proliferation and its victims’ stories. Above all, they reveal the fascinating battle between Frances Kelley, newcomer to the FDA, and Big Pharma’s Richardson-Merrell, as she sought to block the drug’s introduction. A medical officer and scientist, Frankie was a hero who saved thousands, if not millions, of lives. AUTHOR: James Essinger is an established author of narrative nonfiction books focusing on STEM subjects and personalities. These include ‘Ada’s Algorithm: How Lord Byron’s Daughter Launched the Digital Age Through the Poetry of Numbers’, which has been optioned for film by Monumental Pictures (screenplay is complete). He lives in Canterbury. SELLING POINTS: . Foreword by Sir Harold Evans, who spearheaded the campaign to force Distillers (distributors of thalidomide) to pay compensation to British victims of thalidomide and their families . The unknown story of one woman’s fight against a male dominated industry to protect the health of women and their unborn children . A world history of the drug, with content from the UK, US, Canada, Germany and elsewhere . Features the voices of the victims of the drug and their families