Parents who claim their babies were damaged by a pregnancy test drug are preparing to sue its makers and the Government.
Lawyers representing over 200 claimants have written to two drug companies and UK regulators accusing them of putting patients at risk and being negligent.
Primodos, given to women in the 1960s and 1970s, induced a period in those who were not pregnant.
But many families believe if the mother was pregnant, it caused heart defects, brain injuries and even still births.
A previous claim by families was scrapped in 1982 but they are now being backed by law firm SPG Law.
Marie Lyon, of the Association For Children Damaged by Hormone Pregnancy Tests, told Sky News: “My feeling is relief that we finally have the opportunity to expose the truth.”
German giant Bayer, which took over Primodos maker Schering, and Sanofi, whose predecessor firm Roussel produced Amenorone Forte – similar to Primodos – have been written to.
And a letter to the Department of Health says regulators did not take appropriate steps when the alleged risks first emerged.
Lisa Lunt, of SPG Law, said what allegedly occurred was “astonishing”.
Oxford University analysis of Primodos last year found a “clear association” between the drug and several forms of malformation.
Bayer said the Oxford research had “limitations” and that “no new scientific knowledge has been produced”.
Sanofi cited a 2017 Government which found “insufficient evidence” linking Primodos to baby defects.
The Department for Health was approached for comment last night.
