New Delhi: Madhya Pradesh may suspend 11 doctors associated with the Mahatma Gandhi Medical College (MGMC) in Indore for conducting unethical clinical trials.
add_main_imageOn 8 October, the Supreme Court had made all states party in a public interest litigation (PIL), filed by activist Swasthya Adhikar Manch, alleging serious irregularities in clinical trials in India. The case specifically involved irregularities in trials at MGMC.
While Ramgulam Razdan, a psychiatrist at the hospital, has been transferred, the rest of the doctors are likely to be suspended, said an official in chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan’s office who didn’t want to be identified.NextMAds
The chief minister had initiated departmental inquiry against four psychiatrists—V.S. Pal, Pali Rastogi, Abhay Paliwal and Ujwal Sardesai—former dean Ashoka Vajpayee, current dean Pushpa Verma, professor of medicine Anil Bharani, hospital superintendent Salil Bhargava, paediatrician Hemant Jain and neurologist Apoorv Puranik on 17 February.
According to documents submitted in the apex court, the psychiatrists had enrolled 233 mentally ill patients in clinical trials without informed consent.
The state government has issued a show-cause notice to former dean Vajpayee for approving trials to be conducted in MGMC without following the requisite procedures.
According to documents presented in the Rajya Sabha, 2,163 people have died in India due to clinical trials since 2007 and 32 of these deaths occurred at MGMC.
Despite mounting evidence and various reports recommending criminal proceeding against the accused doctors, the matter had been gathering dust for seven months, according to the petitioners in the PIL.
The state’s new education minister Anoop Misra has indicated that erring doctors may be suspended, said Chinmay Mishra, convener, Swasthya Adhikar Manch. “The state machinery will finally be taking concrete steps after years of dilly-dallying because of the Supreme Court’s directions. We are expecting transfers and suspension orders to be handed to the doctors. Various reports have already indicated that these doctors should lose their practising licences; but we will have to see how serious the state government is about setting standards for clinical trials.”sixthMAds
In June 2011, the Madhya Pradesh economic offences wing submitted a report on clinical trials at Maharaja Yashwantrao Hospital and MGMC that established a conflict of interest, pointing out that pharmaceutical companies had sent principal investigators in several trials on “foreign trips and money was received (by the doctors)”.
A charge-sheet was filed by the Madhya Pradesh government in April this year but no action was taken despite the chief minister ordering a departmental enquiry.
Besides this, the economic offences wing and a joint secretary in the state government had already submitted reports, recommending action, including criminal proceedings, against the erring doctors.
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court threatened the central government with a blanket ban on clinical trials in the country if the health ministry and state governments did not furnish details of trials within eight weeks.
A bench of justices R.M. Lodha and A.R. Dave directed the Union government to compile data regarding serious adverse events, deaths during trials, and compensation given to families before the next hearing.
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