There are people who take drugs when they feel ill or sick. Others, however, they do for a living. And with the current economic crisis , as more and more individuals try to find a new way to make money, perhaps many have thought about the possibility of going to a clinic for testing drugs that have not yet been approved and receive money in return.
clinical trials in humans are an important part of drug development process. Allow pharmaceutical companies to know whether or not the compounds have side effects.
For many of the studies, companies recruit healthy volunteers. Among these are several that are devoted full time to be "guinea pigs" of the pharmaceutical industry. Process
The first phase of developing a new drug involves computer models and in vitro tests, followed by animal studies, primarily rodents, to test its toxicity.
At that time, the compound has to be formally approved for human trials.
In the initial stages, usually recruited from ten to 30 people for each trial.
The resulting information provides details on how the medication is tolerated, how the body absorbs, breaks down and eliminated, and if you have any side effects for the individual who participates in testing.
The second stage of any trial is to test the drug in people who already have the disease that needs treatment.
"People get money to analyze the safety of a drug, not to see if the drug works, but to know that it can be safely consumed," says anthropologist Roberto Abadie, who has been studying the trend of paid as guinea pigs in the United States.
The pharmaceutical industry claims that complies with the regulations when it comes to recruiting guinea pigs "professionals."
But Abadie have questions about whether companies are actually aware that some people participate in numerous tests.
"There is no central registry for people who take part in them. I'm not sure he knows this professionalization," he adds.
"I do not know or be interested to know that some individuals have participated in up to 100 clinical trials." In the U.S.
Many
of which lend themselves to this test are African American and low-income Latinos.
"Probably there are only a few thousands of guinea pigs, but most tests are carried out with these people who make their living with them," says anthropologist Abadie.
A person can earn $ 20,000 a year to participate in eight or ten trials.
Each test usually lasts a month.
"I think I never earned more than $ 20,000 or $ 25,000 a year, but I met people who were making more than me," said Robert Helms, a former professional guinea pig.
"He called workaholics."
According to Abadie, there have been cases in which a person is subjected to two trials at once.
"It's much more than what they would work in McDonalds," he says, a reference to poorly paid work. " Long-term risks
The problem, says the expert, are the large doses of chemicals that people should be absorbed into your body.
"Nobody knows what effect this will have when these substances interact with each other in about 20 or 30 years," he warns.
Abadie believes that the pharmaceutical industry should also show concern.
"There is the issue of liability for damage and damages if it appears that in the end, the companies suspect that something could go wrong but did nothing because they needed professional guinea pigs continue with the tests so they could produce a drug, "he says.
Pharmaceutical companies ensure they take all possible precautions when carrying out the phases of human drug trials.
Helms, former professional guinea pig, recalls an incident in which things went wrong.
"In 1996, a friend went through a difficult time. He began to have delusions. I thought the movie "12 Monkeys" ("12 Monkeys") had been based on it. "
In some countries began to establish regulations for clinical trials, but not the United States.
According to Helms, the pharmaceutical industry there" is powerful. "I do not think things will change in a near future, "he says.
" They have very strong political and I do not think this situation will change. "(BBC)
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