Ingeborg Eichler
Ingeborg Eichler (born July 28, 1923 in Znojmo , Czechoslovakia ; † July 3, 2008 ) was an Austrian pharmacologist. From 1953 she was a member of the Austrian prescription compulsory commission as well as the Austrian drug approval commission .
Life
She studied medicine from 1943 to 1948 and completed her doctorate in 1948 at the University of Vienna sub auspiciis praesidentis . As a specialist in pharmacology , she headed the federal institute for experimental pharmacological and balneological examinations in Vienna (since 1993 "Federal Institute for Medicines", since 2006 "Federal Office for Health Safety").
In 1957 the sleeping pill Contergan with the active ingredient thalidomide from the Grünenthal company came onto the market in Germany without a prescription. Due to its low toxicity , thalidomide seemed generally suitable for over-the-counter dispensing. In Austria, an application was made for non-prescription approval under the brand name Softenon .
Ingeborg Eichler, however, was the only member of the Austrian drug approval commission to veto the over-the-counter sales of Softenon in October 1957 . As head of the federal institute for experimental pharmacological and balneological examinations, she had carried out animal experiments with thalidomide herself and had come to the conclusion that the examination results were not sufficient as a basis for an over the counter dispensing. Therefore, she advocated maintaining the prescription requirement for the time being and gaining more experience on tolerability. In this way, she enforced the requirement for a doctor to prescribe severe malformations in newborns due to the teratogenic effects of thalidomide in Austria were limited to 12 cases. In contrast, around 4,000 newborns were affected in the neighboring Federal Republic of Germany, with a population around eight times larger.
In 1983 Ingeborg Eichler retired.
Honors
Ingeborg Eichler-Satke has been an honorary member of the Austrian Pharmacological Society since 2007. The certificate of honor was presented in March 2008 by a delegation headed by the chairman of the Austrian Pharmacological Society, Prof. Andrea Laslop.
In December 2007 she received the Ring of Honor of the Austrian Social Insurance .
Ingeborg Eichler was awarded the Great Silver Medal of Honor for Services to the Republic of Austria in 2008 for her services .
Web links
- Softenon (thalidomide) in Austria: Excerpt from the Austrian State Archives (PDF file; 92 kB)
- An avoidable catastrophe (PDF file; 695 kB)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Austrian Authority Transition Act, 1993
- ↑ PDF, obituary from the Austrian Pharmacological Society
- ↑ List of all decorations awarded by the Federal President for services to the Republic of Austria from 1952 (PDF file; 6.59 MB)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Eichler, Ingeborg |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Austrian doctor and pharmacologist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 28, 1923 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Znojmo |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 3, 2008 |