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Testing Drugs on India's Poor

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the pincushion-for-cash dept.

theodp writes to tell us Wired is reporting that a lot of medical research firms are using India's poor as a hot test bed. From the article: "The sudden influx of drug companies to India resembles the gold rush frontier, according to Sean Philpott, managing editor of The American Journal of Bioethics. 'Not only are research costs low, but there is a skilled work force to conduct the trials'"

5 of 531 comments (clear)

  1. Ethics by Winckle · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "Doctors are easier to recruit for trials because they don't have to go through the same ethics procedures as their Western colleagues," Ecks said. "And patients ask fewer questions about what is going on."
    I can't tell if he's being serious, but if he truly does have no moral qualms about that last statement, then he frightens me.

  2. Generic versions of patented drugs by op12 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    FTA: "But in March, everything changed when India submitted to pressure from the World Trade Organization to stop the practice and implement rules that prohibit local companies from creating generic versions of patented drugs."

    WHy do they want to prevent that? What about in the U.S. where we have things like Walgreen's Wal-tussin to compete with Robitussin (same ingredients, cheaper cost for the consumer)? (same with Sudafed, etc.) Does this fall under the kind of thing WTO wants to stop?

    1. Re:Generic versions of patented drugs by slavemowgli · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Non-cynical answer: the difference is "patented". Robitussin's active ingredient was patented in the 1950s, so the patent has long since run out, and everyone's free to recreate it.

      Cynical answer: the difference is that the USA doesn't want Indian companies to hurt the sales of US-American companies. If it's two US-American companies fighting, the USA as a whole don't lose anything, but if it's foreign companies...

      I think there's some truth in both answers.

      --
      quidquid latine dictum sit altum videtur.
  3. Re:I'm Fine With It by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If you have seen the film "Constant Gardener", you can see the problems associated with this practice. The main problem is lack of accountability. So what if a couple people die from these drug tests. They are poor, no one is going to miss them. No one will fight for them.

  4. Testing Drugs on America's Poor. Different? by Kunta+Kinte · · Score: 5, Insightful

    For years people right here in the US have been selling body fluids and enrolling in drug trials to make extra cash.

    But there's a moral issue when it is done in some other country?

    Can we quite patronizing the people? They're poor not retarded.

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