Distilbène, UCB Pharma's brand of the synthetic hormone diethylstilbestrol (DES), was prescribed to approximately 200,000 pregnant women in France from 1948 to 1977 to prevent miscarriages. Tragically, it caused severe birth defects and genital cancers in their children, primarily daughters. Over 30 years on, these 'Distilbène daughters'—around 80,000 in France—continue their fight for official recognition and fair redress. These round green and pink pills, also marketed as Stilboestrol-Borne and Furostilboestrol, exposed generations to profound health risks.
By the 1970s, evidence emerged linking in-utero DES exposure to malformations and cancers, especially in girls.
The synthetic estrogen in Distilbène was used in France from 1948 to avert miscarriages and premature births, peaking between 1964 and 1972.
In the early 1970s, clusters of vaginal and cervical cancers in young women exposed in utero raised alarms.
France officially contraindicated DES for pregnant women in 1977—six years after the U.S.—but full awareness grew only in 1983, following gynecologist Anne Cabau's research published in Le Monde.
The first Distilbène lawsuit launched in 1991 by two affected daughters. Labs demanded written proof of maternal exposure. A comprehensive expert review from 1992 to 1999 culminated in 2002 and 2003 rulings by Nanterre's Tribunal de Grande Instance, holding DES responsible for their illnesses.
Video of the day:Trials proliferated; one victim died of cancer in 2004, just two days into her case, which the labs lost. DES France reports over 70 cases implicating the drug.
Distilbène daughters face elevated risks of cervical, vaginal, and breast cancers, infertility, miscarriages (50% fail to reach term), and early menopause. Effects extend transgenerationally.
A 2011 French study found third-generation children 40-50 times more prone to genital malformations.
Further 2014 research identified breast cancer cases in exposed daughters and their mothers post-40.
Initially dismissed, victims persisted. Author Marie Darrieussecq, DES France godmother, noted in L’Express (2013): “Doctors found us bothersome.” A milestone came in 2016: courts recognized a victim without prescription proof, deeming malformations uniquely characteristic.
In February 2019, UCB Pharma was ordered to pay €3 million to a disabled 'Distilbène grandson'.
Beyond courts, the Netherlands established a compensation fund in 2007. A 2019 petition to Agnès Buzyn urged France to follow suit. The fight endures.
Marie Claire: Thoughts on the petition for a compensation fund?
Martine Verdier: Discussed in the 1990s, but labs resisted due to costs. Today, it could gain traction if they agree. The petition adds weight, though Distilbène remains an overlooked scandal amid Dépakine and Lubrizol crises.
Would a fund suffice?
It offers limited sums—typically four times less than court awards. We need legal reform for these delayed, transgenerational risks.
What blocks compensation?
Laws must address transgenerational damages, making exposure imprescriptible. France's pharmacovigilance lags; few mid-life doctors know DES effects. Without mobilization, links to Distilbène will fade.
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