Saturday, November 7, 2015

#Guinea Pigs : 2209 people died during clinical trials in India in last 4 yrs

Nearly 2209 people died during clinical trial in the country from 2011 to October 20, 2015.
In a reply to RTI application, Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) office has submitted that out of the total deaths in the corresponding period, 302 died in 2015 alone.


In a recent Right to Information reply filed by Gautam Kothari reveals that more deaths continue to happen in India due to clinical trials of experimental new drugs in recent months from 2014 till date. Gautam Kothari, a well known RTI activist, had filed a RTI dated 17th Sep 2015 asking for details of deaths during clinical trials between 2011 and 2015. The reply from Drug Controller General India (DCGI) office shows that a total number of 2209 deaths happened from 2011 to 20th October 2015. As per earlier data given by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) in the public interest litigation (PIL) case filed by Swasthya Adhikar Manch there was a total 2868 deaths from 2005 to 2012. This RTI response now takes the death toll during clinical trials to a whopping 4203. In just recent years  alone, 1335 deaths happened from  2013 to October 2015 .
The status of compensation paid stands at a bare minimum coverage. In 2014 out of 443 deaths, only 12 cases have been compensated and in 2015 out of 302 deaths, no one has received any compensation.