Testing Drugs on India's Poor, page 1

posted on Dec, 19 2005 @ 03:15 PM

link

Pharmaceutical companies are now beginning to test drugs in third world countries where costs are cheaper and there is an endless supply of test subjects. India is now starting to be the center for testing for most expensive tests required for Food and Drug Administration clearance of any drug. The practice of drug testing in third world countries can reduce the cost of drug manufacturing by 60%.

www.wired.com
Given the rising cost of drug research in the United States and Europe, more and more drug companies are conducting clinical trials in developing countries where government oversight is more lax and research can be done for a fraction of the cost. According to a 2004 study by Rabo India Finance, a subsidiary of the Netherlands-based Rabo Bank, clinical trials account for more than 40 percent of drug-development costs. The study also found that performing the studies in India can bring the price down by about 60 percent.

Nevertheless, even before the anti-generic rules were enacted, companies performing clinical trials in India saw their share of problems. In 2004, two India-based pharmaceutical companies, Shantha Biotech in Hyderabad and Biocon in Bangalore, came under scrutiny for conducting illegal clinical trials that led to eight deaths.

"Third World lives are worth much less than the European lives. That is what colonialism was all about," said Srirupa Prasad, a visiting assistant professor of medical history and bioethics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Please visit the link provided for the complete story.

Well I knew that tech jobs and call center jobs were going to third world countries like india but I didnt realize that they would do something like this and I never really thought about it.

[edit on 23-12-2005 by Nerdling]

Nygdan

posted on Dec, 20 2005 @ 12:41 PM

link

"Third World lives are worth much less than the European lives. That is what colonialism was all about," said Srirupa Prasad,

Thats hardly what is going on. The costs of doing the drug testing are lower in third world countries, because third world countries are poor. Since its cheaper to do it there, thats where its going to happen.

If the costs of drug development can be reduced, then the priceof drugs can be reduced, and the drugs can become more affordable to third world countries. Heck, the governments of those countries can use it all as a bargaining chip to have the drugs sold there at a much reduced rate.

atomic811

posted on Dec, 23 2005 @ 07:03 PM

link

i do wonder however if the people in the 3rd world countries are as protected as we are.. i mean if someone there felt ill and wanted to stop the trial can they op out? if someone dies from a new drug there is there any recourse if the testers are found in error?? i have no ideas so i am asking.

brian

ekul08

posted on Dec, 24 2005 @ 08:44 AM

link

Just when I thought Pharmaceutical companies couldnt be any worse, an article like this comes along and just confirms every belief i have ever had about their intentions and motives.

Not good at all, but then it seems to be the Capitalistic sort of value the world has going on. I mean, Nike does it for shoes, Nestle does it for food, why not just create whole countries for each social group.

The elite and Wealthy will no doubt want Europe and the USA. Just let the povity continue, some slaves to make your wealth.. thats all they are.

Sorry for my rant.

voodoo child

posted on Dec, 24 2005 @ 09:01 AM

link

the corporations are all about money, they couldn't care about people or the environment.
its sad.

NumberCruncher

posted on Dec, 26 2005 @ 06:14 AM

link

I don't doubt this for a mement, i remember as a young traveler many years ago a backpacker/expats magazine called TNT in London used to advertise all the time for paid test subjects, i guess hoping to get broke backpackers chomping there medicines to "confirm" they work.

Scary stuff, i guess as money has got worth less in the West it entices these companys to shift recruiting grounds.

talon565

posted on Dec, 26 2005 @ 06:30 AM

link

Regardless of how cheap it is to test and produce drugs in a third world country, the price is still going to be high.

When was the last time you bought a pair of Nikes.

This is just another way of increasing share holder and executive management profits, and no they dont care about anyone, just the share price and the cash!

Englishman_in_Spain

posted on Dec, 26 2005 @ 06:43 AM

link

Certainly until very recently, and for all I know it might still be happening, university students in the UK were paid a nominal fee for volunteering to be drug company guinea pigs.

NumberCruncher

posted on Dec, 26 2005 @ 07:02 AM

link

Originally posted by talon565
Regardless of how cheap it is to test and produce drugs in a third world country, the price is still going to be high.

When was the last time you bought a pair of Nikes.

This is just another way of increasing share holder and executive management profits, and no they dont care about anyone, just the share price and the cash!

Sorry to shift the subject a little but ..

I always remember that the combined annual wages of 30 thousand Indonesian nike shoe makers equated to less than what Nike used to pay Michael Jordan each year to endorse Nike shoes, huge huh!

Conspirator_101

posted on Dec, 26 2005 @ 04:38 PM

link

I do not find it surprising at all that drugs are tested on people of the third world. Drug companies are mega rich, and these people are poor, they need the money, and corporations exploit this, how profit is made, exploiting people. We've seen it throughout history and will continue to see it.

Not a nice species we turned out to be