FDA Scraps Helsinki Declaration on Protecting Human Subjects
 

The FDA formally declared that it will no longer require that clinical trials submitted to the agency to get regulatory approval for a new drug adhere to the Helsinki Declaration.

The new rule, which goes into effect next October, was supported by the drug industry but opposed by numerous public interest, patient advocacy, and consumer groups.

The new rule requires only that trials conducted abroad by drug manufacturers follow good clinical practices (GCP) and include a review and approval by an independent ethics committee.

There's nothing in GCP guidelines that requires patients in the control arm of a trial get access to already proven therapies.

http://www.gooznews.com:80/archives/001052.html

This article explains the significance of the FDA decision.

http://www.nature.com/embor/journal/...l/7400743.html

Some critics have said that clinicians, consumers and payers need to know whether or not a new treatment is better than other existing comparable treatments, not a (is this better than nothing) placebo.

The trials with people in this instance are ones who ought to be on some sort of medication. So providing them with nothing, rather than an existing drug, is a serious situation.

It's been an ethical question for a long time here in the United States. Some cannot see that anyone would do something so unethical as set up a trial that did not offer the chance at the current standard of therapy versus a new drug.

Being on a placebo for a few months means that a cancer seriously can progress to the point that treatment would no long benefit them. No thanks! I'd skip clinical trials.

There are some medical oncologists utilizing cell-based bio-markers for years in their managment of their cancer patients that feel it is unethical not to use them, as opposed to "trial-and-error" treatment. Science is in the eye of the beholder. If you know something works better than nothing......

The FDA drops the ball on patient rights
 

On assignment for the Scientific American, Merrill Goozner traveled to Romsk, Russia on the western edge of Siberia to get their perspective on the issue of major pharmaceutical companies increasingly moving their clinical trials to countries like this one.

http://science-community.sciam.com/b...ghts/570003206

These are interesting and important news. Thanks for posting.

Pharma Co. Accused of Running Unethical Trials in India
 

GoozNews reported that the Dutch non-profit Wemos International, which works to protect human subjects in clinical trials, accused GlaxoSmithKline of having run a breast cancer trial in India that violated international norms on protecting human subjects.

The trial involved Tykerb (lapatinib), which had been approved in the United States for woman stricken with breast tumors that overexpress the Her2 gene. The NGO's press release suggested Indian women could not offer meaningful informed consent to participate in the trial since it was the only way for most Indian women to gain access to the drug.

The Wemos report also accused AstraZeneca of running a trial for a schizophrenia drug that used placebos in the comparison arm when other approved treatments were available.

The U.S. withdrew from the Helsinki Declaration, which prohibits placebo-controlled clinical trials to test new drugs for serious or life-threatening diseases when other effective therapies are already available.

http://www.wemos.nl/en-GB/Content.as...e=news&id=3095