From this morning's Metro:
Drug trial victim looks like 'the Elephant Man'
by Jane Atherton
Witnesses described last night how six volunteers collapsed writhing in agony and ended up 'looking like the Elephant Man' after beiong given trial injections of the new drug.
Raste Khan, who escaped unharmed because he was given a placebo, said: 'Some of them screamed that their heads were about to explode.'
The TV technician, 23, said: 'The test ward turned into a living hell minutes after we were injected.
'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. But I felt fine and I didn't know why.'
Six men are in intensive care at Northwick Park Hospital in North-West London following Monday's disasterous test at Parexel International, an independent unit on the campus.
The head of volunteer Ryan Wilson, 21, swelled to three times its normal size
as his limbs turned purple.
The trainee plumber, who was being paid £2000 to take part in the trial for a German drug firm TeGenero, begged doctors to put him to sleep because he was in so much agony. Medics say his chances of survival are slim.
His sister in law Jo Brown, 24, of Highbury, North London, said: 'His head had swollen to nearly three times its normal size. His neck was the same and his skin had turned a dark purple. At first none of us recognised him.'
The girlfriend of another victim said he looked 'like the Elephant man'.
Myfanwy Marshall said she barely recognised the unnamed 20-year-old, who fell ill after being given the new drug TGN1412 in its first human trial.
Miss Marshall, 35, a BBC producer, said: 'He is already a big kind of guy but his face is out here, like Elephant Man, it's completely puffed.'
Thomas Hanke, the chief scientist of German drug company TeGenero, which has been developing TGN1412 since 1997, said: 'We are devastated'.
Drug trial victim looks like 'the Elephant Man'
by Jane Atherton
Witnesses described last night how six volunteers collapsed writhing in agony and ended up 'looking like the Elephant Man' after beiong given trial injections of the new drug.
Raste Khan, who escaped unharmed because he was given a placebo, said: 'Some of them screamed that their heads were about to explode.'
The TV technician, 23, said: 'The test ward turned into a living hell minutes after we were injected.
'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. But I felt fine and I didn't know why.'
Six men are in intensive care at Northwick Park Hospital in North-West London following Monday's disasterous test at Parexel International, an independent unit on the campus.
The head of volunteer Ryan Wilson, 21, swelled to three times its normal size
as his limbs turned purple.The trainee plumber, who was being paid £2000 to take part in the trial for a German drug firm TeGenero, begged doctors to put him to sleep because he was in so much agony. Medics say his chances of survival are slim.
His sister in law Jo Brown, 24, of Highbury, North London, said: 'His head had swollen to nearly three times its normal size. His neck was the same and his skin had turned a dark purple. At first none of us recognised him.'
The girlfriend of another victim said he looked 'like the Elephant man'.
Myfanwy Marshall said she barely recognised the unnamed 20-year-old, who fell ill after being given the new drug TGN1412 in its first human trial.
Miss Marshall, 35, a BBC producer, said: 'He is already a big kind of guy but his face is out here, like Elephant Man, it's completely puffed.'
Thomas Hanke, the chief scientist of German drug company TeGenero, which has been developing TGN1412 since 1997, said: 'We are devastated'.
