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AIIMS Sets-up Panel to Probe Death of 49 Kids

The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, has formed a six-member panel to inquire into the deaths of 49 children occurred during clinical trials in the past two years. The team is headed by Madhuri Behari, Head of the Department (HoD) of Neurology. The other members are Dr Renu Saxena, HoD Hematology and Member Secretary, Ethics Committee; Prof Balram Bhargav, Department of Cardiology; Dr YK Gupta, HoD Pharmacology, Dr DK Sharma, Medical Superintendent and Dr SN Dwivedi, HoD Biostatics. The team has been directed to submit its report within seven days. While the premier institute maintained that the children did not die due to any new drug tried on them, the report will make sure that nothing unanticipated ensued during the trials. Claiming that all checks and balances were maintained during the trials, HoD Paediatrics Dr VK Paul informed, "All 49 children were mortally sick and died naturally, not due to any drugs used in the trials."

In a response to a Right to Information (RTI) application, filed by Uday Foundation, an NGO, the AIIMS administration had replied that as many as 49 babies have died during clinical trials of new medicines in the institution, since 2006.

EH News Bureau