William McBride (doctor)

Dr. William McBride, gynaecologist and obstetrictrician, is the Australian doctor who discovered the teratogenicity of thalidomide which ended the practice of prescribing it during pregnancy.

Dr. McBride published a letter in The Lancet, in December 1961, noting a large number of birth defects in children of patients who were prescribed the drug. Dr. McBride was awarded a medal and prize money by the French Government in connection with his discovery, and, using the prize money he had won he established Foundation 41, a Sydney-based medical research foundation concerned with the causes of birth defects.

Years later, McBride tried to speed up the results of his medical research into birth defects, and was caught falsifying results. He was deregistered as a doctor, and immediately resigned from his position as head of Foundation 41.

As Dr. McBride's deregistration occurred as a result of work he did as a researcher, and not because of work he did as a medical practitioner, the decision to debar Dr. McBride from working as a medical practitioner was reversed and Dr. McBride was re-registered as a doctor in 1998. While Dr. McBride is now allowed to work as a medical practitioner, he is no longer able to work in medical research.