Every woman has the right to informed consent
Fighting for justice for women and families suffering the devastating effects of hormone pregnancy tests. But we can only do it with your support.
Our Story
In the 1960s and 70s, thousands of women were given the oral hormone pregnancy test Primodos. Today, there is more evidence to suggest this drug caused life changing and devastating congenital abnormalities, stillbirths and miscarriages.
The Association for Children Damaged by Hormone Pregnancy Tests (ACDHPT) is campaigning to expose the truth about the failures of both past and present Government Regulatory Agencies and the continuing cover up by the drug company Bayer/Schering. We have had to fight to bring this scandal into the open, to ensure our families are recognised as innocent victims of an unnecessary drug and absolved of any guilt at the tragic results.
It is now time to place the blame where it belongs, with the Regulators and the Manufacturer, to allow our families to finally shed the guilt they have carried for more than 50 years. It is now time for Justice.
Marie Lyon BEM, Chair, ACDHPT.
Ricky Tomlinson makes a heartfelt plea to help drive support for families affected by Primodos.
Evening Standard: Matt Hancock apologises after scathing review lays bare 'anguish, suffering and many ruined lives'
News
2025 : The fight continues - Updates to follow
18 June '22 : Government accused of 'bullying': Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has accused the government of "using its might" to "bully" and "silence" disabled campaigners in the courts. Read the article here
1 June '22 : Crowdfunder: Our crowdfunded page is now live.
Please spread the word! 100% of the money raised will go towards furthering our cause.
5 May '22 : Risky Hormones Workshop: Marie Lyon will be contributing to this important event on 5th May 2022, hosted by the Institute for History of Medicine and Ethics in Medicine, Charité Berlin
15 Sept '21 : Inside Out Quality podcast: Primodos: Zebrafish, GLP, and Unanswered Questions
A podcast by Neil Vargesson on Primodos, recorded for the USA. Listen here
How Can You Help?
The ACDHPT works closely with MPs in the House of Commons and the House of Lords to provide research and evidence to ensure that past regulatory failures are acknowledged, and current regulatory failures are exposed, to ensure we move from a protect and deny culture to an open and listening one. Only by listening to patients can we ensure these avoidable harms never happen again. We feel a moral responsibility to hold the Government and the Manufacturer to account and to protect future generations from unnecessary and untested drugs.
Membership of the Association is available to anyone who has been affected by a hormone pregnancy tests (HPT), such as Primodos or Amenorone Forte. Members bring invaluable support as each new member offers an opportunity to increase our MP support and provide additional funding for our research and campaign. The progress we have made to uncover the scandal and launch the IMMDS review would not have been possible without the nominal subscriptions provided by our families and the vital support of MPs.
Finally, we understand that after 50 years, it can be difficult for those affected to acknowledge and discuss many of the personal issues surrounding Primodos. We understand, and ensure complete confidentiality of your support if you wish.
If you have been moved by our campaign but have not been directly affected by a HPT, we still need your help. Please see how you can support us or donate to help fund our fight for justice.
Timeline
- 1958 Primodos prescribed as a convenient new method of pregnancy testing.
- 1967 Dr. Isabel Gal produces the first comprehensive study identifying the association between HPTs and congenital abnormalities.
- 1975 First warning re: HPTs/Primodos from Government Health Regulators.
- 1977 Second warning started: ``The association has been confirmed".
- 1978 Primodos taken off the market in the UK.
- 1978 The Association (ACDHPT) was formed and received 800 family members.
- 2017 Expert Working Group commissioned by the UK Government concluded there was no association
- 2020 Baroness Cumberlege was asked to Chair an Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review, which concluded there was an association between HPTs/Primodos and adverse effects. The Report, published on 8th July 2020, concluded that Primodos should have been removed from the Market in 1967, immediately after the publication of Dr. Gal's Study
- 2023 Our legal action at the Royal Courts of Justice began 2nd May at a court hearing that ran for four days. On the 26th May, Mrs. Justice Yip approved judgement in favour of the defendants, Bayer Pharma AG & Others and the UK Government - to strike our claims out. Our lack of funding was a contributing factor in the decision to prevent our case proceeding.
- 2024 Our fight continues - Updates to follow.
- 2025 Our fight continues - Updates to follow.
Have you been affected by Primodos?
ACDHPT
We have campaigned for 50 years in our fight for justice but the story of the safety of Hormone Pregnancy Tests is much older. The Cumberlege Review 2020 marked a significant step forward acknowledging the colossal impact of Primodos. We continue the fight to ensure that the NHS, regulators, manufacturers, policy makers and the wider healthcare system admit that mistakes were made and that patients should now be compensated for these failings.
The Primodos Scandal
Mayor Andy Burnham accuses Govt.
Primodos scandal: Government accused of ‘bullying’ disabled campaigners in the courts Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has accused the government of “using its might” to “bully” and “silence” disabled campaigners in the courts. People allegedly damaged by the drug Primodos are in a high court battle with both the UK government and the German pharmaceutical company…
Inside Out Quality
Primodos: Zebrafish, GLP, and Unanswered Questions Primodos, a hormone-based pregnancy test, was given to women between 1959 and 1978. Its development occurred before GLP and before standardized testing for teratogenesis (causing birth defects). There are data and suspicions that it caused birth defects, but more questions remain. This episode of Inside Out Quality explores the…
Drug Safety Research & Communication
EXPLORATHON PODCASTS FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN A number of drugs over the last 70 years have been withdrawn following the discovery of serious side-effects. Most of us will be familiar with the Thalidomide scandal, and how thousands of people continue to be affected by the birth defects caused by the drug. The effect of these scandals has been lasting and…
Frequently Asked Questions
Primodos was a hormone-based pregnancy test drug, given to women from 1958 to 1978, to detect if they were pregnant. Around 1.5 million women in Britain were given Primodos. It consisted of two pills that contained high levels of synthetic progestin and oestrogen hormones. Those hormones would later be used in the morning after pill.