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This occurred due to the fact that the first manufacturer of thalidomide was a German pharmaceutical company - which first sold this drug in October of 1957. This was followed by British approval of the drug. Subsequently, over the next ten years or so, about 2,500 "thalidomide babies" were born in Germany, and about 2,000 in Great Britain. The birth defect is called phocomelia, a shortening of the limbs, in which they appear to look like the flippers on a seal.

Also, the FDA did not approve thalidomide in the U.S. (although quite a few tablets found their way to the U.S., despite the FDA ban).

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Q: How did thalidomide cause birth deformities?
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