Not only do many people object to animal testing, they now object to human testing as well. So how are drug companies supposed to test all the new potentially life-saving, cancer-curing wonder drugs that society demands? Sheree Gibson, Liverpool
Drug companies make enormous money, and are ruthless in their search for any weak or vulnerable person willing for whatever reason to take part in a trial for them. Twenty years ago while lying in a hospital bed in a Cardiff hospital minutes before being taken to theatre for surgery, a young anaesthetist came to my bedside and offered me an anti-nausea drug on trial with minimal side effects. Because I was not thinking clearly I agreed. To this day I am extremely angry, to say the least, and I still wake at night feeling wronged and abused by this young anaesthetist. Name and address withheld
Of course they are necessary - and a highly publicised failed test makes no difference to this. Nobody is forced to participate, and those that do are paid for their trouble and aware of the risks involved. It really is no different to any other job or career that carries an element of risk, like being a policeman or a soldier, and just as vital to society as a whole. Simon Clark, London
Tragic as this outcome is, it is for precisely this reason that such tests are necessary. Having taken part in an asthma medicine trial a while back, I agree with Gabor [see below] that I was made aware of the risks prior to agreeing to participate. However, as others have also pointed out, the majority of participants in such trials are those whose primary interest is in the 'easy' money offered and who therefore do not pay as close attention to the details as they perhaps should. If the drug company involved administered this trial knowing of such serious side-effects were possible, then they have clearly acted irresponsibly. But if it was done in good faith, then heartless as it may sound, this is what the participants agreed to do in exchange for the £2,000 they were paid. Dominic Graham de Montrose, London
I am a student at King's College London. I receive at least one e-mail per week offering me the possibility of participating in these sorts of trials. I know some students in economic difficulties who are doing it. Why don’t the medicine or pharmacy students try it themselves? Why don't the doctors and researchers give the drug to their sons and daughters? This should be banned. And to the people who volunteer, don't be stupid - nobody gives 500 quid for the sake of it. When a thing like today’s news happens, then it is too late to think about it. Do it before your families end up crying like the woman in the picture. H. T., London
A few years ago I took part in an asthma medicine study being conducted at Southampton General Hospital. I am mildly asthmatic and felt that my condition had been ignored or muisunderstood by a number of GPs over the years, until after moving house I registered with a new GP who was able to prescribe medication that reduced my condition and the need to take "reliever" medicines. So when I heard of the trial I wanted to take part. Everything was fully explained, and I am pleased to say there were no adverse effects. For me, an additional benefit was that I was closely examined by a specialist doctor over a period of about 18 months, and was prescribed medication that has reduced the effect of asthma even further. I went into it aware that there is a level of risk, but confident in the doctors because of the degree of care with which everything was explained. I also wanted to contribute in some small way to helping others with asthma. But I do feel very sorry for all caught up in this sad case. Gabor Kovacs, Southampton
I have undertaken numerous trails over the past 17 years and have always been provided with information on the known possible side-effects of any drug I have taken. I have never experienced an adverse reaction to any of the drugs I have taken and anyone who has on a trail I have been on has stopped taking the drug immediately. I used to find the reaction of friends who would quite happily drink themselves into a stupor or pop who knows what in pill or powder form when clubbing most amusing. The pay for drug trials is not actually that much, it’s about £5 an hour, but you are in the unit 24 hours a day. The biggest issue with doing a trial is the boredom. I have the utmost sympathy for the volunteers involved in this trial, but speculate that what has happened here will come down to contamination or human error, which could happen in any environment. Tim Allen, Bristol
I used to work for CROs (clinical research organisations) which carry out drug trials. Drug trials are needed as there is no other way to test drugs for human use. Imagine if this particular drug had been approved for use without human trials? Volunteers are given a thorough briefing on what to expect based on information provided by the drug company. Unfortunately for many volunteers their primary interest is money so they may not pay too much attention to possible dangers. My advice would be to make sure the trial that you are doing has been tested in humans already. Name and address withheld
I have a masters in pharmacology and now work for a pharmaceutical company, and I have always said that I would never take part in a drug trial. There is a valid reason why large amount of money are paid to volunteers - and that is the potential risk involved, and whilst many trials such as this are benign, volunteers are made aware that there is still an inherent, albeit small, risk that there could be serious implications. Whilst I have sympathy for the volunteers involved, there should be no backlash against the use of clinical trials as a proving ground for new drugs. Name and address withheld
Yes, and sad as it is, most of us doing these trials are desperate for money to pay rent, food and bills. Okay, there is always the Australian or New Zealander who does it to travel the world. Me and my friend did it because we had no money at all and could not find work. Research a bit more about these volunteers and soon you will find out that probably they are foreigners, or jobless, or students whithout the rich dad or another victim of society. I wouldn't do it again ever. Eduardo Montes, London
Drug trials are absolutely necessary; there is simply no other way of ensuring that new medicines are safe. The current system is well designed and proceeds through a series of cautious steps. However, you cannot eliminate risk entirely. George Murphy, London
I have taken part in many phase two and three drug trials for HIV medication that have seen me grow a breast in one case, become paranoid and delusional in another; that also saw me unable to walk due to severe side-effects. My body chemistry has been irrevocably changed as has my body shape and weight distribution. I've had to endure yet more drugs to counteract the side-effects of "life-saving" drugs that have each caused their own side-effects. I've been pushed from pillar to post and had to sleep in bed linen stained bright yellow from the drugs leaching out of my body in feverish perspiration. In all honesty, I'd rather have died than have to suffer the ineptitude of the NHS and clinical trial doctors and nurses employed and sponsored by drug companies to care for me. I would never allow a defenseless animal to suffer, so why would I agree to human guinea pigs? Name and address withheld
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