Two men are in critical condition and four are seriously ill after partaking in a clinical drug trial.

BBC reports, “But relatives are said to be unhappy with the information given from the firm behind the anti-inflammatory drug.”

“Ms Marshall [pictured], 35, whose boyfriend is critically ill, said the normally healthy 28-year-old’s face was so puffed, he “looks like the Elephant Man”.

Soooo, it’s an anti-inflammatory drug and his body is badly swollen… that would strike us as humorously ironic if we weren’t so busy crying.

“Lawyer Ann Alexander, representing one of the critically ill men, told the BBC the companies had been asked whether any of the animals used to test the drug had died.

“I understand that yesterday, they were told a dog had died during the testing. Today that was denied,” she said.”

Right, so if a pooch dies during testing, that’s usually a pretty good sign that the drug isn’t ready for human use.

“A day ago I was talking to him and he was fine and now they are saying he could die at any moment,” said Ms. Marshall.

From The Independent:

“One victim was named as trainee plumber Ryan Flanagan, 21, of Highbury, north London. His family were told he could not breathe unaided, and his head and neck had swollen to three times their normal size.”

“Raste Khan, one of two men taking a placebo who was unharmed, said his co-subjects “went down like dominoes”. He told The Sun: “First they began tearing their shirts off complaining of fever, then some screamed out that their heads felt like they were about to explode. After that they started fainting, vomiting and writhing.”

A former student described yesterday how he nearly took part in the Parexel trial but dropped out of it.

But he felt rushed. ”Something told me to be suspicious about it even though I did not know why I should,” he said. ”It seemed a bit haphazard.'”

Two Drug Trial Men Critically Ill [via Digg]

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