Is GlaxoSmithKline Behaving Badly in Argentina?

[Hannah Bell]

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=5735276&page=2

Twelve Argentine children who participated in Protocol Compas have died, and of those 12, seven are being mourned in Santiago del Estero, one of Argentina's poorest provinces. Like Ester, many of the parents reportedly blame what they know as Protocol Compas, or simply, Compas.

"Within the COMPAS trial an Independent Data Monitoring Committee (IDMC) oversees safety aspects of the study and ensure that the highest ethical and compliance standards are followed," said Sarah Alspach, director of US Media Relations for GlaxoSmithKline. "The mortality rate of children participating in the COMPAS study is closely monitored by the IDMC and does not exceed the rate in the regions and countries participating in the study."

Some parents say they didn't know that their children were participating in a study at all. Others claim to have been coerced into participating -- a suggestion rebutted by Ruttiman, who told ABCNews.com that participation is always voluntary and that parents "are informed, clearly and in a language they can understand, by experienced medical investigators."