Trial drug had caused swelling in monkeys

A DRUG which left six men seriously ill when it was tested on humans for the first time caused temporary swelling in the glands of two monkeys during animal experiments, the firm behind the medication confirmed.

But the German company which developed the TGN1412 drug said the monkey’s symptoms were completely different from those suffered by the men being treated at Northwick Park Hospital in north-west London.

One of the six men injected with the drug eight days ago is Ryan Flanagan, a 21-year-old student with family in Ireland and Britain.