Read about a drug test that went wrong in a London hospital. This could be an interesting topic to discuss in class, since the guinea pigs are young people attracted by this "easy" way to get money. We can consider it as part of our role to make our students aware of the risks and of the threats that can be hidden among the 15 pages of a contract they will have to sign in a hurry...
The long article from The Times has to be used only in parts, but I find the beginning very efficient:
"The sales pitch could have been written by a time-share spiv. “You'll be paid for your time,” it reads. “Free food . . . digital TV, pool table, video games, DVD player and now FREE internet access!” An invitation to one long holiday? No, this is how Parexel, the company at the heart of a medical disaster, recruits human guinea pigs to test new drugs and brave the frontiers of modern science."
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-2092527_2,00.html
Read also this article from the BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/4819318.stm
with a diagram that can be used to explain and comment the process of drug testing:
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41453000/gif/_41453872_drug_flow_203.gif
and the reactions from the public
http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?threadID=1315&&&edition=1&ttl=20060319110131
Advanced students can also listen to the interview of Lord Winston , a scientist who implies that the restrictions and bans on animal experimentations might have lead to this accident. There is also a video at the top of the page : the images are not much help, but the audio content is interesting.
you can also read the information on the event on the websites of the labs who produced the medicine:
http://www.parexel.com/news_and_events/press_releasesSingle.asp?id=235
http://www.tegenero.com/news/statement_re_tgn1412/index.php