The Front Line of Drug Testing

Twenty million Americans are recruited into clinical trials each year. Some participants have cancer or other life threatening illnesses, but many are perfectly healthy. These healthy volunteers are often the first humans to test the safety of a new drug, years before it hits the market.

They face days and sometimes weeks of blood tests and monitoring, but they are rewarded for their time, in cash. Officially they are only paid for giving up their time for science, but some in the U.S. can make as much as $34,000 a year.

By some estimates, there are as many as 10,000 people in the United States who make their living primarily through phase one clinical trials. There’s a growing debate over whether or not volunteers should be paid. Some argue that paying volunteers puts the poorest members of society unfairly at risk, and could produce misleading data that would allow questionable treatments to enter the market.

Alison Motluck wrote about the "perils of the professional lab rat" in the most recent issue of New Scientist magazine. We're also joined by Brandon, who asked that we not use his last name. He was featured in Alison's article and has been participating in clinical trials since 2005.

New Scientist: Perils of the professional lab rat

(Photo by Ana C. via Flickr/Creative Commons)