Before launching a drug onto the market, pharmaceutical companies have to carry out tests on humans to verify their safety. What are the procedures? What are the regulatory requirements, and are they respected everywhere? Volunteers agree to put their bodies and lives in the hands of companies like Pfizel, Glaxo, and Novartis. But in recent years there have been cases where these guinea pigs have been hospitalised and even killed as a result of tests. We look into these cases.
The pharmaceutical industry, like all other industries, has seen a rise in offshoring in recent years. Companies look to poorer countries where wages are low to entice volunteers, who can earn many times their normal salaries through these tests – unemployed, students; many people now earn their living off medical trials. Poland has become the European hotspot, and India has the most human guinea pigs in the world. However conditions in poorer countries are much shadier and seem to involve higher risks.
Scientists are claiming better alternatives to animal testing exist. So why are pharmaceutical companies lobbying to stop alternative tests being used?
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We investigate the actions of chemical industry, including testing products on prisoners, poisoning the environment and their own employees, and their involvement in Bhopal.
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Anti-depressants, tranquillisers and sleeping pills are some of the most prescribed medicines in the world with a record number of us on the ’happy pills’. Many of these drugs come with a range of serious side effects. But is is their association with violence and suicide that has been most controversial.
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