Frances Oldham Kelsey
Frances Kathleen Oldham Kelsey CM (born July 24, 1914 in Cobble Hill on Vancouver Island , British Columbia , † August 7, 2015 in London , Ontario ) was a Canadian-American pharmacologist . She became known because, as an employee of the US Food and Drug Administration, she prevented the substance thalidomide from being approved for the US market. Thalidomide causes damage to embryos and became known in German-speaking countries in connection with the Contergan scandal .
Life
Frances Oldham Kelsey was born on Vancouver Island , Canada and studied pharmacology at McGill University . She graduated from this degree in 1935 and then went to the University of Chicago for a doctoral degree . After completing her doctorate, she continued to work at the University of Chicago until 1954. From 1954 to 1957 she taught at the University of South Dakota . She had been married to Fremont Ellis Kelsey since 1943 and had two daughters. In the 1950s, she was given US citizenship in addition to Canadian.
From 1960 Kelsey worked for the Food and Drug Administration in Washington, DC Its main task was to approve new drugs and substances for the market. One of the first substances she had to review was thalidomide . Although it was already approved in 20 European and African countries, it refused recognition for the substance. It did not rely on the Richardson-Merrell Company, which did not include test results. Instead, only general statements from Grünenthal and the marketing department of Richardson-Merrell were given, and business people and politicians put pressure on Kelsey. She asked Richardson-Merrell to run tests and report the results. The company refused and asked for permission to be granted six times, which were refused each time. In 1962, Richardson-Merrell withdrew the application for approval. Kelsey's concerns about the substance were confirmed when it became clear that the harm to newborn children in Europe was due to thalidomide use during pregnancy.
Frances Oldham Kelsey has received multiple awards for her performance. Among other things, she received the President's Distinguished Federal Civilian Service Award from President Kennedy in 1962 for preventing the approval of thalidomide , the highest award for civilian government employees in the USA.
further reading
- Jackie Barber: Center ceremony honors 107 individuals, 47 groups: Spring event inaugurates Frances Kelsey Drug Safety Award ( Memento of July 9, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) . In: FDA / Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (Ed.): News Along the Pike . November 10, 2005.
- Linda Bren: Frances Oldham Kelsey: FDA Medical Reviewer Leaves Her Mark on History . In: FDA Consumer . .
- Dr. Frances Kathleen Oldham Kelsey . National Library of Medicine. Retrieved April 30, 2006.
- Frances Kelsey . In:Canada Heirloom Series. Heirloom Publishing Inc. 1986. Retrieved April 30, 2006.
- Karen Geraghty: Profile of a Role Model - Frances Oldham Kelsey, MD, PhD . In: Virtual Mentor - American Medical Association Journal of Ethics . 7, No. 7, July 2001.
- John F. Kennedy : Remarks Upon Presenting the President's Awards for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service . 1962. Retrieved May 1, 2006.
- Morton Mintz: "Heroine" of FDA Keeps Bad Drug Off of Market , The Washington Post. July 15, 1962, see front page.
- Maureen Rouhi: Top Pharmaceuticals: Thalidomide . In: American Chemical Society (Ed.): Chemical & Engineering News . 83, No. 25, June 20, 2005.
- Joanne Cavanaugh Simpson: Pregnant pause . In: Johns Hopkins Magazine . 53, No. 4, September 2001.
- Rachel Speige: Research in the News: Thalidomide . Archived from the original on April 3, 2013. Retrieved April 30, 2006.
- The Story Of The Laws Behind The Labels . In: FDA Consumer . June 1981.
- Women of the Hall - Frances Kathleen Oldham Kelsey, Ph.D., MD . National Women's Hall of Fame. 2000. Retrieved May 1, 2006.
Individual evidence
- ^ Ingrid Peritz: Canadian doctor who kept thalidomide out of US dies . The Globe and Mail , Aug. 7, 2015.
- ^ This Week In FDA History - July 15, 1962. US Food and Drug Administration , May 20, 2009, accessed November 27, 2011 .
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Kelsey, Frances Oldham |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Kelsey, Frances Kathleen Oldham (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Canadian-American pharmacologist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 24, 1914 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Cobble Hill , Vancouver Island , British Columbia |
| DATE OF DEATH | 7th August 2015 |
| Place of death | London (Ontario) |