Thalidomide, the best-selling sedative that triggered the world's most notorious medicine disaster, was launched 50 years ago next week, but its legacy lives on today. It is time to do more for those who were affected.

About 10,000 children worldwide whose mothers had unwittingly taken a drug marketed for morning sickness suffered disabling birth defects. Some 40,000 more developed peripheral neuritis, causing pain and sometimes paralysis.