Primodos was a hormone-based pregnancy test, produced by Schering AG, and used in the 1960s and 1970s that consisted of two pills that contained norethisterone (as acetate) and ethinylestradiol.
[1] In the 1960s, Dr. Isabel Gal conducted research at Queen Mary's Hospital for Children that showed a link between use of the drug and severe birth defects.
[1][6] A review of the matter by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency in 2014 assessed the studies performed to date, and concluded that it found the evidence for adverse effects to be inconclusive.
[1][7] The report of an expert working group of the UK Commission on Human Medicines published in November 2017 concluded there was no "causal association" between Primodos and severe disabilities in babies.
It recommended that "the Government should immediately issue a fulsome apology on behalf of the healthcare system to the families affected by Primodos".