NEW DELHI: India will soon quantify the amount of compensation to be paid by pharmaceutical companies, if a volunteer dies or gets injured during a clinical trial. On October 10, the Drug Technical Advisory Board (DTAB) gave its nod to the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) to prepare a "compensation chart" or extensive guidelines that will specify the amount to be paid. Ethical committees of the company will have to decide the quantum of compensation on the basis of these guidelines. The compensation has to be paid by the trial's sponsor or its representative within 90 days of the death or injury to the victim or the next of h/his kin. In the first 30 days, the firm will have to prove to the ethics panel that the death or injury wasn't due to the drug, else it has to pay. In India, pharma companies pay compensation "according to their will" that varies between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 10 lakhs since "no set parameters have b...
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