An Indian who took ill after a controversial drug trial that went awry has described his experience as 'horrific' and said he was warned to expect nothing worse than headaches and nausea as side-effects.
Six healthy volunteers suffered convulsions and organ failure last month after being given trial doses of TGN1412, a drug being tested for leukaemia and autoimmine and inflammatory diseases. It was the first time the drug was tested on humans.
Navneet Modi, 24, said about an hour after receiving the drug, "I had a headache that was like a huge amount of pressure being put on my head and I started moaning to the doctor."
Speaking to the British television network ITV, Modi said the headache was followed by shortness of breath and severe back pain. "I was crying of pain. I really started crying. I begged the doctor to do something because I felt I was am going to die."
One of the other drug trial victims remains in critical condition.
The trial of the monoclonal antibody developed by TeGenero AG of Wuerzburg, Germany was being run at a London hospital by Parexel International, based in Waltham, Massachusetts.
Modi, an MBA graduate and a part-time pharmacy worker, told the channel he planned to use the 2,000 pound fee from the trial to buy a laptop. He said he had still not told his parents, who live in India, about this incident.
