SC issues notice to Centre on illegal drug trials in India

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The Supreme Court on Monday sought the Centre's response on conducting an independent inquiry into alleged illegal clinical trials of untested drugs by pharmaceutical companies in various states.

A bench of justices R.M. Lodha and H.L. Gokhale issued a notice to the Centre as also to the 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 the multinational corporation because laws are not implemented strictly.

"India is being used for conducting clinical trials by the multinational corporation owing to the reason that the laws are not implemented strictly, because of legal lacunae and because of poverty and other economic reasons the subjects for these trials are easily available," advocate Sanjay Parekh, appearing for the petitioner, said.

The court passed the order on a PIL filed by Indore-based NGO Swasthya Adhikar Manch which sought appointment of an expert committee to regulate the clinical trials done by many multinational pharmaceutical companies.

The petitioner-NGO pointed out various cases of illegal drug trials are going on in the country and said such trials must be stopped immediately and requested the apex court's intervention in the matter.

Counsel Sanjay Parikh, appearing for the petitioner NGO, told the court that, as a consequence of these illegal clinical trials, a total of 1,727 patients have died in four years from 2007 to 2010.

'There should be procedures'

Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, meanwhile, said trials should be as per laid down procedures.

"Clinical trials have to be there, but going for a clinical trial for testing any medicine on human being, there is a laid down procedure," Azad said, reacting to the apex court's notice.

"...Sometimes the companies don't go by the laid down procedures and it causes great harm to persons and individuals on which this test is carried out," the health minister said on the sidelines of a conference in Bengaluru.

"Supreme Court might have said that if any test has to be carried out, it has to be carried out based on procedures."

The central government has been asked to respond to the notice within six weeks.