Six fall ill during London drug trial

[rhino47]

http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/six-fall-ill-during-london-drug-trial/2006/03/15/1142098528957.html

SIX men were in intensive care in a London hospital after suddenly falling ill while taking part in the trial of a new drug for conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and leukaemia.

The patients, all healthy before taking the anti-inflammatory drug, are believed to have suffered multiple organ failure. At least two are in a critical condition.

US drug firm Parexel tested the drug on eight men at a unit on the grounds of the Northwick Park hospital in north-western London. Six fell ill within hours, while two men who took a placebo were unaffected

[Fridays Child]

1. "The identity of the drug and its manufacturer have not been released...

...because of commercial sensitivity."

Translation: corporate profits trump consumer safety and public health.

This is bullshit.

But look here: http://www.parexel.com/news_and_events/press_releasesSingle.asp?id=233

[jbnow]

2. I imagine they'll be looking

at the "initial laboratory studies" data pretty closely. I haven't heard of such an immediate and severe reactions in humans after animal tests showed no clue of problems.

I hope these "healthy volunteers" return to health.

[MercutioATC]

3. It's a fact of medicine...

...animal trials do NOT always indicate what will happen in human trials. That's why we have human trials before a drug is approved.

Unfortunate? Yes.

An evil conspiracy? No. It's what the system was DESIGNED to do.

[acmavm]

4. I was listening to a UK radio station yesterday. The families of the two

men who are in critical condition think that they were purposely given an overdose.

[Fridays Child]

6. Well, I agree but shielding the company due to a "commercial sensitivity"

still reeks of corporate protection at the consumer's expense. I first ran into the "commercial sensitivities" phrase about a year ago, in an article that discussed breakthrough research on the use of essential oils to prevent MRSA and some other dangerous microbial infections. The work was done at a public university but, because it was sponsored by a private corporation, exactly which oils were found to be efficacious would not be released.

Nevertheless, I scoured the Internet for the information and came up with the following essential oils:

eucalyptus
citrus (with a strong d-limonene component)
geranium
tea tree

Additionally, lavender, oregano, rosewood, thyme, peppermint and myrrh are reported to be excellent bacterial (and possible virus) fighters. And eucalyptus oil mixed with grapefruit seed extract has been found to kill airborne germs. A combination of eucalyptus, tea tree, and grapefruit essential oils with a small amount of grapefruit seed extract in a spray bottle makes an excellent air and surface freshener/sanitizer.

It's been said that, in his duties as a physician, Nostradamus was able to avoid contracting bubonic plague because he owned a perfume-making business. Back in those days, of course, perfumes were made entirely from essential plant oils. Legend tells of "Thieves' Blend," a combination of oils that body raiders used to protect themselves from the plague while they were stealing jewelry from corpses. And it has been speculated that Nostradamus may have utilized a similar concoction to keep himself safe.

Oops. I'm way off topic, huh? I'll quit now. :P

[fed-up]

5. Here's the manufacturer

http://www.in-pharmatechnologist.com/news/ng.asp?id=26995-bi-wins-antibody

17/11/2003 - A small German start-up company has turned to Boehringer Ingelheim to develop a process for the production of a new monoclonal antibody-based drug for immunological disorders.

The company, TeGenero, has asked BI to generate a production cell line, build a manufacturing process and produce sufficient quantities of the humanised antibody – called CD28-SuperMAB, to complete clinical trials.


and an earlier thread on this

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2167683