William Griffith McBride

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

AO (25 May 1927 – 27 June 2018) was an Australian

obstetrician Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a surgi ...

. He published a letter on the

teratogenicity Teratology is the study of abnormalities of physiological development in organisms during their life span. It is a sub-discipline in medical genetics which focuses on the classification of congenital abnormalities in dysmorphology. The related t ...

thalidomide Thalidomide, sold under the brand names Contergan and Thalomid among others, is a medication used to treat a number of cancers (including multiple myeloma), graft-versus-host disease, and a number of skin conditions including complications of ...

following the findings of a

midwife A midwife is a health professional who cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth, a specialization known as midwifery. The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughout their lifespan; co ...

named Pat Sparrow, which resulted in the reduction of the number of drugs prescribed during

pregnancy Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops ( gestates) inside a woman's uterus (womb). A multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Pregnancy usually occurs by sexual intercourse, but ca ...

. Later in his life, McBride was found guilty of separate counts of medical malpractice and scientific fraud for falsifying data in a paper that claimed that the drug Debendox was also responsible for birth defects.

Biography

McBride was born in Sydney, Australia.

Thalidomide case

McBride published a letter in ''

The Lancet ''The Lancet'' is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal and one of the oldest of its kind. It is also the world's highest-impact academic journal. It was founded in England in 1823. The journal publishes original research articles, ...

'', in December 1961, noting a large number of

birth defect A birth defect, also known as a congenital disorder, is an abnormal condition that is present at birth regardless of its cause. Birth defects may result in disabilities that may be physical, intellectual, or developmental. The disabilities can ...

s in children of patients who were prescribed thalidomide, after a

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 Crown Street Women's Hospital (now-closed) was once the largest maternity hospital in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was located at 351 Crown Street (corner of Crown and Albion Streets), Surry Hills. The hospital was one of severa ...

in Sydney. McBride was awarded a medal and prize money by , a prestigious French institute, in connection with his discovery, in 1971. Using the prize money, he established

Foundation 41 Foundation 41 was a medical research organisation, principally investigating the causes of mental and physical handicaps in babies, and was based at the Crown Street Women's Hospital, Sydney, Australia. It was founded in 1971 by Dr William McBr ...

, 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.

Debendox case

McBride's involvement in the Debendox case is less illustrious. In 1981, he published a paper indicating that the drug

Debendox Pyridoxine/doxylamine, sold under the brand name Diclectin among others, is a combination of pyridoxine hydrochloride ( vitamin B6) and doxylamine succinate. It is generally used for nausea and vomiting of pregnancy (morning sickness); even thou ...

(marketed in the US as

Bendectin Pyridoxine/doxylamine, sold under the brand name Diclectin among others, is a combination of pyridoxine hydrochloride ( vitamin B6) and doxylamine succinate. It is generally used for nausea and vomiting of pregnancy (morning sickness); even thou ...

) caused birth defects. His co-authors noted that the published paper contained manipulated data and protested but their voices went unheard. Multiple lawsuits were filed by patients, and McBride was a willing witness for the claimants. Eventually, the case was investigated and, as a result, McBride was struck off the Australian medical register in 1993 for deliberately falsifying data. An inquiry determined "we are forced to conclude that McBride did publish statements which he either knew were untrue or which he did not genuinely believe to be true, and in that respect was guilty of scientific fraud." He was reinstated to the medical register in 1998. The Bendectin case, and the subsequent removal of the drug from the US market, has had a number of consequences.Brent R. "Medical, social, and legal implications of treating nausea and vomiting of pregnancy" ''Am J Obstet Gynecol'' 2002 May;186(5 Suppl Understanding):S262-6 Firstly, there was an immediate increase in the rates of hospitalization for nausea and vomiting in pregnancy. Secondly, it created a treatment void in terms of having a safe medication that could be used for alleviating morning sickness in US pregnant women, a condition which, in the most severe form, called

hyperemesis gravidarum Hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) is a pregnancy complication that is characterized by severe nausea, vomiting, weight loss, and possibly dehydration. Feeling faint may also occur. It is considered more severe than morning sickness. Symptoms often get ...

, could be both life-threatening and cause women to terminate their pregnancy. The removal from the market of a safe and effective drug for the treatment of nausea and vomiting of pregnancy resulted in the use of other, less studied drugs in pregnancy. Thirdly, it has been claimed that subsequent to the Bendectin experience, drug companies stayed away from developing medications for pregnant patients. As a result, only a few medications were approved by the FDA for obstetrical indications in the past several decades. Lastly, the perception that all medications are teratogenic increased among pregnant women and healthcare professionals. The unfounded fear of using medications during pregnancy has precluded many women from receiving the treatment they require. Leaving medical conditions untreated during pregnancy can result in adverse pregnancy outcomes or significant morbidity for both the mother and baby. Ongoing education of physicians and the general public has resulted in improvements in the perception of medication use in pregnancy; however, further advances are required to overcome the devastating effects of the Bendectin saga.

Honours

McBride was nominated Man of the Year for 1962, a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(

1969 Birthday Honours The 1969 Queen's Birthday Honours were appointments to orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms to reward and highlight citizens' good works, on the occasion of the official birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. They were announced in supplem ...

), Father of the Year (1972) and an

Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

( 1977 Silver Jubilee and Queen's Birthday Honours).

Personal life

McBride had four children, one of whom is the soldier, lawyer, television presenter and whistleblower,

David McBride David B. McBride (born June 23, 1942) is an American politician who served in the Delaware General Assembly for forty-two years. After serving one term in the Delaware House of Representatives from the 15th district, he was elected to the Delawa ...

Death

McBride died, aged 91, on 27 June 2018.

References

External links

1986 Portrait of William McBride
– National Library of Australia {{DEFAULTSORT:McBride, William 1927 births 2018 deaths Australian obstetricians Australian Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Officers of the Order of Australia People educated at Canterbury Boys' High School People involved in scientific misconduct incidents Sydney Medical School alumni