The Age newspaper has obtained excerpts of never-before-published files from the archives of pharmaceutical giant Grunenthal which detail explicit warnings the company received about its drug’s potential to harm foetuses well before it was withdrawn from sale in late 1961.

The files reveal that for at least two years before the drug was banned in late 1961, German medical professionals had told Grunenthal staff of concerns that children’s deformities were caused by women taking thalidomide during pregnancy.

You can read the full article and download the affidavits here and a further article from the Daily Mail here.