try this pill for free: Drug Trials in India

Digital Drifter · Mar 1st, 2006, 01:31

Wired.com Article

QUOTE-
The town of Sevagram in central India has long been known for three things: its heat, which is oppressive even by Indian standards; its snakes, which are abundant; and its ashram, a derelict and increasingly malarial retreat preserved as a tribute to Mohandas Gandhi, who lived here and was known for tenderly relocating the poisonous vipers that slithered into his shack.

sirensongs · Mar 1st, 2006, 11:27

Just the first quoted paragraph of this article was sooooo obviously negative I'm not sure i can read the rest....

Oh, looks like the writer is doing a "contrast" setup...next paragraph is "uplifting." (predictable)

Nick-H · Mar 1st, 2006, 12:39

Very interesting and ballanced article. Thanks DD.

Cross-posted with you, Sirensongs. i doubt it says anything you would find new, but I did find it a balanced view and worth reading the whole thing.

Digital Drifter · Mar 1st, 2006, 20:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by sirensongs

Just the first quoted paragraph of this article was sooooo obviously negative I'm not sure i can read the rest....

Oh, looks like the writer is doing a "contrast" setup...next paragraph is "uplifting." (predictable)

I believe the correct term is "balance", the new rage within journalists. you know, like the Darwin Vs Intelligent Design thingy.

Anyway, would it be possible to run "just say no" to drugs here? :-)

crvlvr · Mar 2nd, 2006, 00:07

Quote:

Like many in the pharmaceutical industry, Narula believes that the solution to the slow pace of drug trials lies in outsourcing. As many as half of all clinical trials are already conducted in locations far from the pharmaceutical companies' home base, in countries like India, China, and Brazil.

Quote:

Last year, the government took a more controversial step, amending a long-standing law that limited the kind of trials that foreign pharmaceutical companies could conduct. That law allowed companies to test drugs on Indian patients only after the drugs had been proven safe in trials conducted in the country of origin. In January, the government threw out that constraint. India, the brilliant hub of outsourced labor, was positioning itself in a newly lucrative role: guinea pig to the world.

Quote:

"A lot of private hospital doctors have suddenly become 'researchers,'" Kalantri notes. "They will enroll almost anybody and recruit for almost any trial, whether or not it helps the patient." And while the money earned from a trial in Sevagram goes to the hospital, elsewhere it may be paid to the doctor. "A lot goes into personal bank accounts," he says.

I wouldn't call the article uplifting. Are Indian lives worth less than those abroad? Did these foreign multinationals pay the govt off for them to change the laws? Is this along the same lines as Union Carbide's Bhopal gas tragedy?

Sama · Mar 2nd, 2006, 00:08

did anyone see the movie "The Constant Gardener"? Hmmmm........

abracax · Mar 2nd, 2006, 04:14

The practice of medicine in situations like those described in the article presents ethical challenges that make pocketing a little bakshish for drug trials a trivial matter (especially given that the results are likely to be virtually meaningless). For example a common description for the strategy used to treat advanced cerebral malaria or a bad stroke is "sending up."

Nick-H · Mar 2nd, 2006, 12:08

I think doctors the world over get backhanders for prescribing one drug rather than an other, if not for running trials.

The idea of India: the world's laboratory is one that I find very worrying.

Judi · Mar 2nd, 2006, 16:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by yogagal60510

did anyone see the movie "The Constant Gardener"? Hmmmm........

Not yet .... but I just finished reading the book over breakfast this morning, and that was the first thing that came into my head when I saw the title of this thread ........

Sama · Mar 2nd, 2006, 20:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by Judi

Not yet .... but I just finished reading the book over breakfast this morning, and that was the first thing that came into my head when I saw the title of this thread ........

yes, most definitely! The first thing that came into my head was the scene in the movie where all the people are waiting in line to get the drug and the little boy gets pulled out of line for not having the right "papers"......

Paagla Dashu · Mar 3rd, 2006, 07:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick-H

The idea of India: the world's laboratory is one that I find very worrying.

Worrying? Yes.

Surprising? No.

Remember (before you know who jumps in, let me say it) : We NEED the ENERGY.

Good news is, in the bargain, we will also get "free medicine" and free samples of food produced by new research techniques.

What the article does not discuss is what is the safety and regulatory framework around these trials.

Nick-H · Mar 3rd, 2006, 12:26

Oh, indeed not at all surprising -- thus all the more worrying.

And it won't be energy with which they buy their way in.

Simply, cash in pockets will do the trick.

jivan · Mar 6th, 2006, 20:34

I found the article both interesting as well as informative. It does make sense while at the same time tells it's all about intentions at the end of the day. What do u intend ?

Digital Drifter · Mar 16th, 2006, 09:58

well, here's how NOT to do it.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4808836.stm

jivan · Mar 16th, 2006, 10:54

Ineresting article DD. From what I gather :-
1. First of all it's a trial so mixed messages is common. The companies have perceptions as either how effective the drug would be or not & if it has some side effects.
2. There are no 2-ways to do a trial. There is no other way than to do this. Most of the times the companies try first on the animals & then humans. But even then one can't say for any facts of the case. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwarkanath_Kotnis http://www.china.org.cn/english/culture/141496.htm
http://www.daliannews.com/homepage/e...1ai594695.html or Dr. Kotnis atleast in the movie 'Dr. Kotnis ki Amar Kahani' shows him treating malarial patients & then making an malarial anti-dote & trying the virus as well as the malarial anti-dote on himself. So don't see a way out.
3.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BBC News

Professor Kent Woods, from the MHRA, said they would be looking at whether the reaction was caused by a manufacturing problem, contamination, a dosing error or whether it was some "completely unanticipated side effect of the drug in humans".

Here again as it seems there could be no. of different scenarios which could've taken place. Except for the last thing all the others deserve some kind of criminal action against the people who did it.

Mar 1st, 2006, 01:31	#1
Digital Drifter bang a whore? Bangalore Dammit! Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,878	try this pill for free: Drug Trials in India Wired.com Article QUOTE- The town of Sevagram in central India has long been known for three things: its heat, which is oppressive even by Indian standards; its snakes, which are abundant; and its ashram, a derelict and increasingly malarial retreat preserved as a tribute to Mohandas Gandhi, who lived here and was known for tenderly relocating the poisonous vipers that slithered into his shack. __________________ Click here for the Indiamike train guide in PDF Last edited by indiamike : Mar 1st, 2006 at 11:18. Reason: can't use quote tags in a front page post

Mar 1st, 2006, 11:27	#2
sirensongs Eeny meeny mango Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: All India Permit (somewhere between Delhi & Dharamsala) Posts: 1,213	whoa! Just the first quoted paragraph of this article was sooooo obviously negative I'm not sure i can read the rest.... Oh, looks like the writer is doing a "contrast" setup...next paragraph is "uplifting." (predictable) __________________ *"Why do people go to India to find themselves? India is where you go to lose* yourself."** Feringhee: The India Diaries

Mar 1st, 2006, 12:39	#3
Nick-H Loud-mouthed, Noisy Bird Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Chennai, India Posts: 27,644	Very interesting and ballanced article. Thanks DD. Cross-posted with you, Sirensongs. i doubt it says anything you would find new, but I did find it a balanced view and worth reading the whole thing. __________________ . Just one member of the IndiaMike Mod Team

Mar 2nd, 2006, 00:08	#6
Sama a pain in the asana Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: the India inside my heart Posts: 5,434	did anyone see the movie "The Constant Gardener"? Hmmmm........ __________________ *My India, 2005-2008* BE THE REVOLUTION

Mar 2nd, 2006, 04:14	#7
abracax Mahaguru Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Canada Posts: 435	The practice of medicine in situations like those described in the article presents ethical challenges that make pocketing a little bakshish for drug trials a trivial matter (especially given that the results are likely to be virtually meaningless). For example a common description for the strategy used to treat advanced cerebral malaria or a bad stroke is "sending up." __________________ He travels fastest who pays for a cab.

Mar 2nd, 2006, 12:08	#8
Nick-H Loud-mouthed, Noisy Bird Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Chennai, India Posts: 27,644	I think doctors the world over get backhanders for prescribing one drug rather than an other, if not for running trials. The idea of India: the world's laboratory is one that I find very worrying.

Mar 3rd, 2006, 12:26	#12
Nick-H Loud-mouthed, Noisy Bird Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Chennai, India Posts: 27,644	Oh, indeed not at all surprising -- thus all the more worrying. And it won't be energy with which they buy their way in. Simply, cash in pockets will do the trick.

Mar 6th, 2006, 20:34	#13
jivan Maha Guru Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Pune, India Posts: 836	I found the article both interesting as well as informative. It does make sense while at the same time tells it's all about intentions at the end of the day. What do u intend ?

Mar 16th, 2006, 09:58	#14
Digital Drifter bang a whore? Bangalore Dammit! Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,878	well, here's how NOT to do it. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4808836.stm

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