DRINKS giant Diageo has announced it will pay a further £45 million to the ongoing care and support of hundreds of thalidomide victims in the UK.
The money will be paid by the firm, which took over the firm Distillers Biochemical that had manufactured the drug in the UK, in two stages and include a one-off payment of £27m to be paid among more than 450 people affected across Britain.
Thalidomide, which was dispensed in the 1950s and 1960s to cure morning sickness and insomnia in pregnant women, caused terrible birth defects that have prevented most sufferers from living active lives, with more than 3,000 still affected worldwide.
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An unknown number of babies were also stillborn or miscarried because of the drug.
It was withdrawn in 1961 but only after children were born with serious complications.
Diageo announced it had reached an agreement with the Thalidomide Trust, which helps people living with the effects of the drug, to pay money towards costs such as having a car and ongoing expenses brought by living with the effects of thalidomide.
Many affected have been unable to maintain employment and require specific needs to be met in their daily lives.
The firm said it is "committed to the long term support of the Thalidomide Trust and its beneficiaries and this new agreement underlines that commitment".
Mikey Argy, of the Thalidomide Trust, welcomed the move.
She said: "We are delighted that Diageo recognises that we have increasing needs and they have gone quite a long way to alleviate the extra expenses we face.
"We had very good negotiations (with Diageo) and they have taken their responsibility to the thalidomide community seriously."
Diageo has increased its financial support to the beneficiaries of the Thalidomide Trust through the £27m payment to help them cover costs associated with their changing health needs and it has provided funding to employ additional staff to support the beneficiaries with their ongoing and increasing health and well-being needs.
Dr Franz Humer, Diageo chairman, said: "We have a long track record of working with, and supporting, the Thalidomide Trust in their efforts to ensure that long-term care and financial support for people injured by thalidomide is secure.
"This has always been important for Diageo and we remain committed to our ongoing relationship with the Thalidomide Trust.”
The drug was developed in the mid-1950s in Germany and in 1958 it was described by Westminster as a "great drug with proven value".
In 2010 the UK Government expressed its "sincere regret and deep sympathy" to victims of the thalidomide scandal.
Thalidomide was originally developed as a sleeping pill but was also thought to be useful for easing morning sickness in pregnant women.
By 1960, thalidomide was found to damage the development of unborn babies, especially if it had been taken in the first four to eight weeks of pregnancy.
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The drug led to the arms or legs of babies being very short or incompletely formed.
After it was found it had affected more than 10,000 babies around the world at the time, it was banned.
It is now used as a treatment for leprosy and bone cancer and its use is heavily regulated.
German manufacturer Gruenenthal apologised to people who were born with congenital birth defects as a result of its use in 2012.
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