The Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Kochi, a major hospital participating in clinical trials in the country, is doing this with the consent of patients, according to hospital sources.
Since the hospital was established, more than 12 lakh patients have undergone medical treatments and only 1,000 patients have participated in clinical trials, said sources.
While controversies are mounting over the clinical trials done by some hospitals in the state and patient deaths, the AIMS has made it clear that patient safety is the most important factor for the hospital.
“No patient has died during drug trials. We do not select patients from free medical camps for trials. Patients in the trials go through detailed documentation for their consent and every procedure is made transparent.
While enlisting a patient for trials, we ensure that he/she will be in a position to associate with the procedure for five or six years,” hospital officials said.
The ethics committee of the AIMS, based on the guidelines of the ICMR, has doctors as well as other experts as members.
The list of committee members, a transparent document, was submitted to the Drugs Controller General of India, the hospital said, in a statement.
The hospital also provides free medical insurance coverage for all those participating in trials and all treatments are free for them.
Sponsoring companies take care of the expense for treatment and medicines for patients; researchers in the hospital do not benefit financially from the procedure, the statement added.