Russians Eagerly Participate in Medical Experiments, Despite Risks

Folya M. Gonopolsky and his wife, Margarita, who is also in the drug trial, got free medical tests.

As a test subject in a Russian clinical trial for an experimental weight loss drug, Galina I. Malinina had to inject herself in the stomach daily. “No problem,” she said. “The needle is thin and the dose is small.”

The first time she did this at a hospital where long-faced, white-robed doctors stood by and observed her intently, Ms. Malinina soon vomited. After that, she threw up every day for two weeks, yet stuck to the regimen, something valued by companies, as dropouts are expensive

A host of pharmaceutical companies operate in Russia, including Bayer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, Novartis, Novo Nordisk and Pfizer. The companies use the results of trials in Russia, as elsewhere, to help win approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/27/business/global/russians-eagerly-participating-in-medical-experiments-despite-risks.html?pagewanted=all