Govt.’s tie-up with PATH for clinical trials kicks up row

Health Ministry failed to act against PATH over HPV trials, allege Jan Swasthya Abhiyan, Brinda Karat

October 22, 2013 03:58 am | Updated November 17, 2021 01:24 am IST - NEW DELHI

Health activists have expressed shock over the government’s tie-up with One World Health (OWH), an affiliate of Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH), for a training workshop on crisis management in clinical research for clinical trial professionals organised by the Department of Science and Technology.

Reacting to the news reported in The Hindu , Jan Swasthya Abhiyan, a national health coalition, said they were shocked and extremely concerned over the training scheduled for October 29-30 by the government’s Department of Biotechnology in collaboration with OWH, and Clinical Development Service Agency (CDSA) at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication.

Such a collaboration is in complete disregard of the 72nd Parliamentary Standing Committee report on the “Alleged Irregularities in the Conduct of Studies Using Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) Vaccine by PATH in India,” a statement issued by the Jan Swasthya Abhiyan said, while demanding that the contents and recommendations of the report by the Parliamentary Standing Committee be urgently acted upon by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW).

Parliamentary report ignored

Talking to The Hindu , Brinda Karat, member of the politburo of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), said she would soon write to the Ministers of Health and Family, and Science and Technology over the issue.

“This is happening because the Health Ministry has failed to take action on the recommendations of the Parliamentary report,” she said.

The report clearly articulated serious concerns over the unethical nature of the HPV trials on children in Andhra Pradesh (Khammam district) and Gujarat (Vadodara district) since April 2010 — following reports of deaths of some children — that were conducted by PATH. The National Vaccination Programme was conducted with the support of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, in partnership with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the governments of Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat. Vaccines were administered to 10-14-year-old girls in Khammam and Vadodara districts.

Dereliction of duty

The report points to a serious dereliction of duty by many of the institutions involved. In particular, it questions the role of the ICMR, Drugs Controller General of India, EC members and PATH and clearly recommends action by the government against violations by PATH, the statement said.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.