The Body Hunters: Testing New Drugs On The World's Poorest Patients (2006) - Plot & Excerpts
The subtitle says it all - "Testing New drugs on the World's poorest Patients"This is a well written, brilliantly investigated expose of drug companies, the FDA, and contract research organizations (CROs) and how they conspire to seek out the most underprivileged among us to test new drugs for their markets, which are mostly developed nations where patients and/or their insurers will pay inflated prices for them. In developing these drug trials, short shrift is given to informed consent, excuses ranging from language issues to time issues to just plain "it doesn't matter because they wouldn't understand anyway". Control groups are generally given placebos - even though effective treatments are available, leaving them to suffer, sometimes from very serious illnesses. This is so the new drugs can be determined to be better than nothing, rather than being better than current treatments, a very low bar for big Pharma to jump over. Most of the drugs tested are "me too" or copycat drugs, only slightly different from those already on the market, but developed to gain patent protection for the drug companies. Some are drugs for minor conditions that are more or less "manufactured" by the drug companies, for which they already have a remedy, often discovered as a side effect of other test drugs.Most of the drugs tested and shown to be effective are not provided for the test subjects after the testing is complete, despite the difficulty and expense, and often the impossibility of the patients acquiring them for their continued treatment.Another egregious example was a study of an AIDS vaccine, where the control group which did not receive the vaccine, was denied information and access to other preventive measures like condoms. When it comes to risks and benefits, the poor of the world take all the risk and the wealthier among us reap the benefits. The stunning lack of ethics in these drug trials exemplifies the dangers of a barely regulated industry whose only goal is making huge profits for their management and shareholders, regardless of the platitudes they mouth about benefiting mankind.
This book is quite a frightening exposé of the American drug industry and how the FDA and the Government all conspire to keep it as the highest profit industry in the country. Three things I've learned:1. If you ask your doctor for meds you've seen advertised on the tv and he happily prescribes them, you need to change your doctor. He should be doing the diagnosing and prescribing, not you. Drug advertising began because doctors didn't prescribe enough drugs to satisfy big Pharma, so they advertised them like any other consumer item. 2. Always ask for an older drug, especially a generic drug. Drugs are not tested to see if they are more efficient than existing ones only that they work better than nothing. Really dreadful side effects may well be ignored by the FDA (which is why you see so many drug recalls and class actions later). 3. If your doctor tries to suggest a new experimental drug or enroll you in a drug trial or in any way gives you a drug that is not freely available at a pharmacist - beware. He may have enrolled you in a drug trial without exactly full disclosure but then back in 2005 he would have got up to $12,000 a patient for that, probably a lot more now.Read the book!
What do You think about The Body Hunters: Testing New Drugs On The World's Poorest Patients (2006)?
Working at a hospital that offers hundreds of clinical trials, I have been introduced to all the major pharmaceutical and CRO companies that deal with trials, not just here but all over the world. This book interested me since I had that familiarity with trials but only see them in a domestic setting. After reading this book, I now have an understanding of just how far and low these companies will go to get their drugs out on the market and making money. I had no idea half of these scenarios were happening or even legal but it seems the Pharma companies have done their research to see what they could get away with. I thought it a well-research and highly enthralling read and recommend it to anyone who has ever taken a pill and what to know what it took to get it into your house.
—Amanda
This book was a pleasant surprise. It details the growth in the testing of prescription medicines on persons living in poor nations, and how the medical community has justified the lowered standard of safety and informed consent that is often used. An upsetting book, since essentially what it documents is how drug companies test medicines for wealthy, rich nations on the poorest people in the world, even though they'll likely never get access to these drugs. The twisting of ethics is fairly horrifying. I liked the book because it was well documented, easy to read, and did a good job of presenting all sides of the issue. Highly recommended.
—Bridget
