Clinical trial claims victim in expose play

Facts and figures pack the script of Shivani Tibrewala's new English play that takes on pharma firms who lure unsuspecting clinical trial volunteers with wads of cash

Facts and figures pack the script of Shivani Tibrewala's new English play that takes on pharma firms who lure unsuspecting clinical trial volunteers with wads of cash

A statistic involving 2 million Indians has left playwright-director-actor Shivani Tibrewala worried, if not angry.

"How many of us know that phase 1 testing for clinical trails is now possible in India? This is a big step. It means healthy people can be lured by the power of money to allow clinical trails to be conducted on them. And though they may sign a disclaimer, are they really making an informed decision?" asks the artistic director of No Licence Yet Productions.

The play follows Joy Fernandes, a young middle-class medical student who is on a mission to avenge her mother's death. In an attempt to raise money for her daughter's education, Mary volunteers with a pharmaceutical firm to allow clinical trials to be conducted on her. What she isn't told is that one of the drugs tested on her could lead to heart failure.

The firm distributes medicines to tsunami victims, and through her journalist boyfriend Arjun, Joy learns that those medicines do not meet World Health Organisation standards and are banned in most countries. It turns out that her mentor, Dr Pereira, is the mastermind behind the trial.

"Joy sees a world she doesn't trust anymore, one devoid of morals and ideals," says Tibrewala, who essays the role of Joy. Co-actor Aseem Hattangady, who plays Arjun, says, "I had no clue about clinical trials in India before I read Shivani's script. The play is crammed with facts and figures."

Tibrewala says the script names certain multinational pharma companies, and the first staging held in Coimbatore, invited suggestions about rethinking the script. "I haven't budged," saysu00a0 Tibrewala whose research revealed how a certain pharma firm stated that patients using its anti-depressants were more likely to commit suicide than patients on placebos.

The cast includes veteran actor Tom Alter togetheru00a0 with Meenal Patel, Utkarsh Mazumdar, Aseem Hattangady and Gitanjali Dang.

Number crunching
>> Approximately 2 million people are currently part of clinical trials in India.
>> Approximately 30% of drugs distributed in India are those returned to pharma companies for safe disposal.
>> MNCs pay approximately Rs 30,000 per patient per trial.

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