Nearly a half century later, an apology from the German manufacturer of a drug that caused thousands of birth defects worldwide.

Gruenenthal CEO Harald Stock.

SOUNDBITE: Gruenenthal CEO Harald Stock saying:

"More than this, we also ask for forgiveness for not reaching out to you from human to human for almost 50 years. Instead of doing this we were silent and we are so sorry. We ask you that you see our long speechlessness as a sign of the silent shock that your fate has caused us."

About10,000 people were born with birth defects --- including missing or malformed limbs caused by Thalidomide which was marketed to pregnant women as a treatment for morning sickness.

Victims say the apology is too little,too late. They called the drug maker's unveiling of this statue at a memorial in Stolberg, a public relations stunt.

SOUNDBITE: Andreas Meyer from the Association of Thalidomide victims saying:

"We are the memorials of a profit greedy pharmaceutical company that trampled over lives, without consideration, that ran its economy regardless of the human cost and knew exactly what it was doing."

The thalidomide scandal triggered a worldwide overhaul of drug-testing regimes and boosted the reputation of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which refused to approve the drug.