Chemical structures: Chemical structures of Pomalidomide; Thalidomide and Lenalidomide are very similar:   Thalidomide is an off-white to white, odorless, crystalline powder that is soluble at 25°C in dimethyl sulfoxide and sparingly soluble in water and ethanol. The glutarimide moiety contains a single asymmetric center and, therefore, may exist in either of two optically active forms designated S-(-) or R-(+). THALOMID® (thalidomide) is an equal mixture of the S-(-) and R-(+) forms and, therefore, has a net optical rotation of zero. THALOMID® (thalidomide) is available in 50 mg, 100 mg, 150 mg and 200 mg capsules for oral administration. Active ingredient: thalidomide. Inactive ingredients: pregelatinized starch and magnesium stearate. The 50 mg capsule shell contains gelatin, titanium dioxide, and black ink. The 100 mg capsule shell contains black iron oxide, yellow iron oxide, titanium dioxide, gelatin, and black ink. The 150 mg capsule shell contains FD&C blue #2, black iron oxide, yellow iron oxide, titanium dioxide, gelatin, and black and white ink. The 200 mg capsule shell contains FD&C blue #2, titanium dioxide, gelatin, and white ink.   According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thalidomide, Thalidomide was introduced as a sedative drug in the late 1950s. In 1961, it was withdrawn due to teratogenicity and neuropathy. There is now a growing clinical interest in thalidomide, and it is introduced as an immunomodulatory agent used primarily, combined with dexamethasone, to treat multiple myeloma. The drug is a potent teratogen in zebrafish, chickens, rabbits and primates including humans: severe birth defects may result if the drug is taken during pregnancy. Thalidomide was sold in a number of countries across the world from 1957 until 1961 when it was withdrawn from the market after being found to be a cause of birth defects in what has been called "one of the biggest medical tragedies of modern times".[4] It is not known exactly how many worldwide victims of the drug there have been, although estimates range from 10,000 to 20,000. Since then thalidomide has been found to be a valuable treatment for a number of medical conditions and it is being prescribed again in a number of countries, although its use remains controversial.  The thalidomide tragedy led to much stricter testing being required for drugs and pesticides before they can be licensed.   Thalidomide was developed by German pharmaceutical company Grünenthal in Stolberg (Rhineland) near Aachen, although this claim has recently been challenged. A report published by Martin W. Johnson, director of the Thalidomide Trust in the United Kingdom, mentioned evidence found by Argentinian author Carlos De Napoli that suggested the drug had been developed as an antidote to nerve gases such as Sarin in Germany in 1944, ten years before Grünenthal secured a patent in 1954. De Napoli suggested elsewhere that thalidomide may have been first synthesised by British scientists at the University of Nottingham in 1949. Thalidomide, launched by Grünenthal on 1st October 1957,  was found to act as an effective tranquiliser and painkiller and was proclaimed a "wonder drug" for insomnia, coughs, colds and headaches. It was also found to be an effective antiemetic which had an inhibitory effect on morning sickness, and so thousands of pregnant women took the drug to relieve their symptoms. At the time of the drug's development it was not thought likely that any drug could pass from the mother across the placental barrier and harm the developing fetus.     In 1964 Jacob Sheskin, Professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem at Hadassah University Hospital (he was also the chief staff and manager of Hansen Leper Hospital in Jerusalem), administered thalidomide to a critically ill patient with erythema nodosum leprosum (ENL), a painful complication of leprosy, in an attempt to relieve his pain in spite of the ban. The patient slept for hours, and was able to get out of bed without aid upon awakening. The result was followed by more favorable experiences and then by a clinical trial.[24] He found that patients with erythema nodosum leprosum, a painful skin condition, experienced relief of their pain by taking thalidomide. Further work conducted in 1991 by Dr. Gilla Kaplan at Rockefeller University in New York City showed that thalidomide worked in leprosy by inhibiting tumor necrosis factor alpha and believed it would be an effective treatment for AIDS. Kaplan partnered with Celgene Corporation to further develop the potential for thalidomide in AIDS and tuberculosis. However, clinical trials for AIDS proved disappointing. In 1964 Jacob Sheskin, Professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem at Hadassah University Hospital (he was also the chief staff and manager of Hansen Leper Hospital in Jerusalem), administered thalidomide to a critically ill patient with erythema nodosum leprosum (ENL), a painful complication of leprosy, in an attempt to relieve his pain in spite of the ban. The patient slept for hours, and was able to get out of bed without aid upon awakening. The result was followed by more favorable experiences and then by a clinical trial.[24] He found that patients with erythema nodosum leprosum, a painful skin condition, experienced relief of their pain by taking thalidomide. Further work conducted in 1991 by Dr. Gilla Kaplan at Rockefeller University in New York City showed that thalidomide worked in leprosy by inhibiting tumor necrosis factor alpha and believed it would be an effective treatment for AIDS. Kaplan partnered with Celgene Corporation to further develop the potential for thalidomide in AIDS and tuberculosis. However, clinical trials for AIDS proved disappointing. On July 16, 1998, the FDA approved the use of thalidomide for the treatment of lesions associated with Erythema Nodosum Leprosum (ENL). Because of thalidomideÂ’s potential for causing birth defects, the distribution of the drug was permitted only under tightly controlled conditions. The FDA required that Celgene Corporation, which planned to market thalidomide under the brand name Thalomid, establish a System for Thalidomide Education and Prescribing Safety (S.T.E.P.S.) oversight program. The conditions required under the program include; limiting prescription and dispensing rights only to authorized prescribers and pharmacies, keeping a registry of all patients prescribed thalidomide, providing extensive patient education about the risks associated with the drug and providing periodic pregnancy tests for women who are prescribed it.On May 26, 2006, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted accelerated approval for thalidomide (Thalomid, Celgene Corporation) in combination with dexamethasone for the treatment of newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (MM) patients.The FDA approval came seven years after the first reports of efficacy in the medical literature and Celgene took advantage of "off-label" marketing opportunities to promote the drug in advance of its FDA approval for the myeloma indication. Thalomid, as the drug is commercially known, sold over $300 million per year, while only approved for leprosy. From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thalidomide