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Experimental breast cancer drug unethically tested on Indian women

090216_clinicaltrials.jpgPeople in developing countries run health risks from pharmaceutical companies testing drugs on them for the Western market. An Indian research report published today again shows several pharmaceutical companies’ disregard for ethical rules. ‘The Indian Centre for Studies in Ethics and Rights has examined, among other things, the way GlaxoSmithKline tested a breast cancer drug on seriously ill women in India,’ says Annelies den Boer of the Dutch Wemos Foundation, co-commissioner of the study with the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO). ‘The drug, lapatinib, has been conditionally approved for the European market by the European Medicines Agency.’ (…) Pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca also conducted clinical trials in India that are not accepted by ethical review committees in Western Europe. The company gave placebo treatment to patients with schizophrenia. From the report published today it becomes clear that these trials were not required for obtaining marketing authorization in India. Den Boer says: ‘Time after time we see that patients in developing countries are used to test drugs that are primarily intended for the European market. Contrary to the ethical guidelines, these patients do not benefit from the research results. It’s high time for firm action from the European authorities charged with the approval of new medicines and their admission to the European market.’ Image source: somo.nl. > Continue.

News selected by Covalence | Country: Global | Company: GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca | Source: Wemos

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