Tuesday, March 09, 2004

Companies Facing Ethical Issue as Drugs Are Tested Overseas
March 5 New York Times story - "As companies increasingly test new drugs in other countries, they are struggling to decide what, if anything, they owe the patients who served as test subjects. Some companies have chosen not to sell their drugs in the countries where they were tested; others have marketed their drugs there, but few patients in those countries can afford them. ... Ethicists say that they, too, are troubled but that their field has reached no consensus on what companies should do." [Viewing New York Times resources requires registration, which is free].  
  

Drug Maker Alters Procedure In Medical Study After Participant Commits Suicide
AP story at InteliHealth - "Eli Lilly and Co. said Friday that it will lengthen the withdrawal period used to wean participants in a drug study off an experimental medication after the suicide of a 19-year-old woman who was taking part in the tests. Lilly required mental-health evaluations of test subjects after the Feb. 7 suicide of Indiana college student Traci Johnson. Some participants complained of sleeplessness, anxiety or nervousness during their withdrawal from duloxetine, a drug Lilly is testing for two uses: depression and stress urinary incontinence. But the company has said none reported symptoms that suggested a suicide risk. Indianapolis-based Lilly has now doubled the tapering period for the drug from four days to eight days."