'I kept expecting it to happen to me'

March 16, 2006

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(Filed: 16/03/2006)

Drug symptoms are 'unique'

One of two volunteers to be given a placebo in a drugs trial which left six

men in intensive care has described his terror as his fellow test subjects

" went down like dominoes " .

Raste Khan, 23, said: " First they began tearing their shirts off complaining

of fever, then some screamed out that their heads felt like they were going

to explode.

" It was terrifying because I kept expecting it to happen to me at any

moment. But I felt fine and I didn't know why. "

The six previously healthy men were taken into intensive care from a private

medical research centre at Northwick Park Hospital, Harrow, north-west

London, two days ago.

Two of the men are critically ill and the other four are still in a

" serious " condition after taking part in the trial.

A drugs company last night apologised to the families of the men, who

developed the potentially life-threatening side-effects while taking part in

the trial.

The drug, known as TGN1412, is made by pharmaceutical company TeGenero AG,

based in Wurzburg, Germany. It is intended to fight leukaemia, rheumatoid

arthritis and multiple sclerosis.

Hanke, chief scientific officer at TeGenero AG, said he was

" devastated " at the " shocking developments " in the testing of a new medicine

which had showed no safety problems in previous trials.

He said there were no adverse side-effects previously and the testing had

been done to regulatory standards, emphasising that the testing of drugs on

volunteers was normal.

Dr Hanke was unable to comment on the possibility of legal action by the

families of the six stricken men.

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