William Griffith McBride CBE AO (25 May 1927 – 27 June 2018) was an Australian obstetrician. He published a letter on the teratogenicity of thalidomide[1][2][3][4] following the findings of a midwife named Pat Sparrow,[5] which resulted in the reduction of the number of drugs prescribed during pregnancy. Later in his life, McBride was involved in several trials with the pharma industry accusing him of medical malpractice and scientific fraud for falsifying data in a paper that claimed that the drug Debendox was also responsible for birth defects.[6]
Early life
editCareer
editThalidomide case
editMcBride published a letter in The Lancet, in December 1961, noting a large number of birth defects in children of patients who were prescribed thalidomide,[9] after a midwife named Sister Pat Sparrow first suspected the drug was causing birth defects in the babies of patients under his care at Crown Street Women's Hospital in Sydney.[10] McBride was awarded a medal and prize money by L'Institut de la Vie, a prestigious French institute, in connection with his discovery, in 1971. Using the prize money, he established Foundation 41, a Sydney-based medical research foundation concerned with the causes of birth defects. Working with P H Huang, he proposed that thalidomide caused malformations by interacting with the DNA of the dividing embryonic cells. This finding stimulated their experimentation, which showed that thalidomide may inhibit cell division in rapidly dividing cells of malignant tumors. This work was published in the journal "Pharmacology and Toxicology" in 1999 and has been rated in the top ten of the most important Australian medical discoveries.[citation needed]
Debendox case
editMcBride's involvement in the Debendox case is less illustrious.[11] In 1981, he published a paper indicating that the drug Debendox (pyridoxine/doxylamine; marketed in the US as Bendectin) caused birth defects. His co-authors noted that the published paper contained manipulated data and protested.[12] Multiple lawsuits were filed by patients. Eventually, the case was investigated and, as a result, McBride was struck off the Australian medical register in 1993 for deliberately falsifying data.[13] He was reinstated to the medical register in 1998.[14][15][16]
Honours
editMcBride was nominated Man of the Year for 1962,[17] a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (1969 Birthday Honours),[18] Father of the Year (1972) and an Officer of the Order of Australia (1977 Silver Jubilee and Queen's Birthday Honours).[19][20]
Personal life
editMcBride had four children, one of whom is the soldier, lawyer, television presenter and whistleblower, David McBride.[21]
Death
editMcBride died, aged 91, on 27 June 2018.[22]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Papers of William McBride, ca. 1953-1996, National Library of Australia, accessed 26 July 2010
- ^ 1960s Timeline – Australian Broadcasting Corporation
- ^ Page 48 of The New Scientist, Page 48, Vol. 56 – published 5 October 1972
- ^ Dove, Frederick. Thalidomide apology insulting, campaigners say BBC News 1 September 2012. Accessed 31 March 2017
- ^ "William McBride got the credit for exposing thalidomide — but it was a nurse who noticed first". ABC News. 28 June 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
- ^ Dayton, Leigh (26 February 2019). "Thalidomide hero found guilty of scientific fraud". New Scientist. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
- ^ The most influential Australians – The Sydney Morning Herald
- ^ William Griffith McBride biography – The University of Melbourne
- ^ McCredie, Janet. The thalidomide story. Sydney Publishing (University of Sydney), 17 January 2016
- ^ "Dr William McBride: The flawed character credited with linking thalidomide to birth defects - ABC News". Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
- ^ Grant J (2007). Corrupted Science. Facts, Figures & Fun. p. 49f. ISBN 978-1-904332-73-2.
- ^ The Insider, Australian Story, 22 February 2001. Retrieved 26 July 2010
- ^ Thalidomide hero found guilty of scientific fraud – The New Scientist, 27 February 1991
- ^ "Time Magazine" Archived 3 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Medical Tribunal of New South Wales Archived 20 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Dr. McBride hails end of the affair – "The Australian"
- ^ "Saviour of babies—The Man of the Year" – Article published on page 1 of The Daily Mirror (Sydney), Sydney, Friday, 28 December 1962.
- ^ It's an Honour: CBE
- ^ It's an Honour: AO
- ^ "Book: The Trouble with Medicine"
- ^ Wroe, David (22 June 2019). "'What I've done makes sense to me': The complicated, colourful life of David McBride". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
- ^ "William McBride, doctor who exposed dangers of thalidomide, dies". ABC News. 28 June 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
External links
edit- 1986 Portrait of William McBride – National Library of Australia