Guinea pigs for drug trials

Don't worry, we'll never share or sell your information. Menchik is launching a new website — mrna4all. Welcome to Democracy Now! Thank you so much for having me. I volunteered because, as you remember, March was a scary time. It was disorienting. And I thought anything that I could do to help, you know, get us out of this pandemic nightmare was an ethical imperative. You know, my wife is a nurse practitioner. And so, we faced just imminent pressure from the virus.

But on my way to work, I would drive by Longwood Medical Center. I could use my blood as a volunteer in the trials.

And I thought it would do some good. And I am incredibly grateful for that technology. The second thing I would say, however, is: Use that enormous profit — right? But they have the ability to partner with other manufacturers, to license their technology to other manufacturers, to work with the WHO in order to dramatically scale up production. Such behaviors could slow the development of the next generation of vaccines should a new viral outbreak occur.

That would be a real tragedy — one that is avoidable. Thank you, Amy. The clinic staff told participants to use a bucket rather than the toilet, if possible, so that they could look through the vomit to see how much of the pill had been digested before it came back up. After the first round, Stone said, he began sneaking into the bathroom after each dose and forcing himself to throw up the pill, to stave off the side effects. Soon afterwards, Stone did a second study, this time for a diabetes drug.

The second experience was the opposite of his first, he said, with no side effects: Just swallow a pill and relax in between blood draws and blood-pressure tests. He began looking up the numbers for clinics in Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan, calling regularly to learn about upcoming tests. At each one, he networked, befriending other participants who told him about new opportunities. He quit his jobs.

He moved to Austin, where trial sites are more plentiful than they are in Columbus. Stone says he sends mass texts whenever he sees a new study online. In exchange, the group does the same for him. The members of this group call themselves guinea pigs, or lab rats. They also call themselves professionals. There are a few things most serious guinea pigs eventually learn. For studies looking for healthy subjects, the screening process generally comes in two steps.

The first is over the phone, when guinea pigs call to express their interest. Sometimes you have to skirt around it. Some studies, the well-paying ones, are competitive, and clinics will often admit more people than they need from the phone screen, expecting to cull the herd after the round of physicals. Pros know to avoid alcohol and drugs in the days leading up to the screening. Often, though, clinics rely on the participants themselves to enforce the washout.

Depending on when it happens, getting caught in a lie can either get a participant bounced from a study, or it can cause a company to scrap the whole thing.

But Helms believes the risk to companies comes with a trade-off: Professionals may lie their way into a study, he says, but they also make it run more smoothly.

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