Primodos: MPs say 'covered-up' evidence could reveal 'one of the biggest medical frauds of 20th century'

MPs are calling for a new review into the dangers of the drug Primodos, claiming that families who suffered avoidable harm from it have been "sidelined and stonewalled".

MPs said the suggestion there is no proven link between the hormone pregnancy test and babies being born with malformations is "factually and morally wrong".

A report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on hormone pregnancy tests claims evidence was "covered up" and it is possible to "piece together a case that could reveal one of the biggest medical frauds of the 20th century".

Around 1.5 million women in Britain were given hormone pregnancy tests between the 1950s and 1970s.

They were instructed to take the drug by their GPs as a way of finding out if they were pregnant.

But Primodos was withdrawn from the market in the UK in the late 1970s after regulators warned "an association was confirmed" between the drug and birth defects.

However, in 2017 an expert working group found there was insufficient evidence of a causal association.

But MPs now claim this report is flawed. It's hugely significant because the study was relied upon by the government and manufacturers last year to strike out a claim for compensation by the alleged victims.

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Source: Sky News, 1 March 2024