Colonialism of clinical trials: discerning the positive spin offs.

Under pressure from pharmaceutical multinationals, among others, the government of India removed the phase-lag rule and now allows foreign pharmaceutical companies to conduct drug trials in India simultaneously with same-phase trials in other countries. The old rule was designed to protect Indians from being used as guinea pigs in the testing of unproved drugs of foreign origin; trials of domestically discovered drugs were not subject to this provision.