Kiwi seriously ill after UK drug test goes wrong

A New Zealand man seriously ill in Britain after taking part in a clinical drug trial is in a stable condition in hospital and is able to talk, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Mfat) said today.

Of the six men, aged 18 to 30, who took part in the trial, two are in a critical condition, and the others - including the New Zealander - are in a serious but stable condition.

All of the men fell ill after trialling a drug known as TGN 1412 that was developed for a German company to treat chronic inflammatory conditions and leukaemia.

Mfat spokeswoman Helen Tunnah said today the man had not asked for anyone in New Zealand to be contacted on his behalf. "But we are making contact with the person who is with him."

She said a relative of the man was with him at the hospital and his family had been notified.

The men, who were all healthy before the trial, were volunteers to test the drug TGN 1412 to treat inflammatory conditions and leukaemia.

They were at an independent medical research unit on the Northwick Park Hospital campus, northwest London.

The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), Britain's medicines watchdog, suspended the trial and is working with health authorities and the Metropolitan police to find out what happened.

One of those affected was Londoner Ryan Flanagan, 21, who was rushed to intensive care three hours after being given the drug on Monday (British time). His family was told he could not breathe and his head and neck had swollen to three times their normal size, said the Sun newspaper. His legs had also turned purple.

Sarah Brown, a family friend, said Mr Flanagan was a student taking part in the trial to make some money. "He told us he would be paid £2000 and did not think there would be any problems. His mother got a call last night to say his head and neck were swelled up and his legs had turned purple."

Ganesh Suntharalingam, clinical director of the hospital's intensive care unit, said the men were admitted "very quickly".

"They are in a serious condition and they are all receiving close monitoring and appropriate treatment," he said.

The research unit is run by Parexel International and the study was conducted for its sponsor Tegenero AG.

Professor Herman Scholtz, the head of the Parexel International clinical pharmacology unit, said: "Such an adverse drug reaction occurs extremely rarely and this is an unfortunate and unusual situation."

Researchers said nobody other than the six men had been given the product. Two men taking placebos were unharmed.

An MHRA spokesman said the product had been tested on animals and there was nothing to suggest that it should not be used by humans.

The drug, which is taken orally, is made by Tegenero, a privately owned biotechnology company in Wurzburg, Germany.