grünenthal is a german pharmaceutical company. it was founded in 1946. it was the first german company to sell penicillin in germany. it became widely known because of the thalidomide scandal of the 1950s. it had marketed thalidomide as a sedative. thalidomide can cause birth defects,and miscarriages, if pregnant women take it. today, over half of its revenue is made by selling sedatives. as of 2020, about 4,700 people worked for grünenthal. the revenue of the company is about 1.4 billion euro.