SC notice to Centre on illegal drug trials in India

The alleged illegal clinical trials of untested drugs by pharmaceutical firms in the country, has come under the judicial scrutiny with the Supreme Court seeking the Centre's stand on a plea for an independent probe into it.

The alleged illegal clinical trials of untested drugs by pharmaceutical firms in the country, has come under the judicial scrutiny with the Supreme Court seeking the Centre's stand on a plea for an independent probe into it.

HT Image

A bench of justices R M Lodha and H L Gokhale issued notices to the Centre, the Union Health ministry and the Medical Council of India seeking their replies on a Public Interest Litigation alleging that the country is being used for illegal clinical trials by multinational pharmaceutical firms because laxities in implementing laws here.

The court passed the order on the PIL filed by a group of doctors alleging that illegal and unethical clinical trials are being done on poor persons including juveniles, adivasis, and dalits who were used as guinea pigs for testing of the drugs and vaccines produced by multinational corporations.

The petitioners, also urged the court for forming a Committee of Experts, consisting of members of civil society especially, the All-India Drug Action Network, be appointed to examine the present legal provisions concerning clinical trials both in India and abroad and to make recommendations for framing guidelines on the issue.