Drug trials - Health is paramount

INFORMED consent is a fine concept but when it comes to drug trials the decision to participate may be informed a little too much by financial hardship.

Student representatives recently voiced concerns that hard-pressed students are turning themselves into human guinea pigs for clinical trials in an attempt to make ends meet.

If that’s the case, the news that three young men were taken seriously ill during cancer drug trials in Cork this week should serve as a reminder that there are risks associated with the modest rewards.