28/03/2006

Drug trial pair released from hospital

Two of the six men who were hospitalised after a drugs trial went wrong have been allowed to return home.

Doctors at Northwick Park Hospital said that the two men had responded "very well" to treatment and had made an "excellent recovery".

However, four men remain in hospital. One remains in a critical condition, although doctors said he has made gradual improvement over the last week. The three other men are said to be making good progress in their recovery.

The six men fell ill earlier this month after participating in the trial of a new anti-inflammatory drug, TGN 1412. It was the first time that the drug had been tested on humans.

The trial, which was being conducted by US firm Parexel on behalf of German drug manufacturers TeGenero, was immediately suspended when the men fell ill.

The Medical and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency has launched an investigation.

TeGenero said that the drug had caused glands in two monkeys to swell during earlier tests. The company said that the animals' symptoms had differed from those suffered by the men during the trial.

(KMcA/SP)

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