Abel v. Eli Lilly & Co.

This case is but one of many filed in state and federal courts by daughters of women who had taken DES during pregnancy and their spouses against the manufacturers of synthetic estrogen products.

Very briefly, synthesis of estrogen was first reported by C. E. Dodds, a British researcher, in 1938. Dr.’ Dodds never patented the drug, known as diethylstilbestrol or DES, thus allowing any manufacturer to develop the drug who chose to do so. The Food and Drug Administration first granted several companies’ requests to market DES for non-pregnancy uses in 1941. In 1947, several companies filed…