Western drug companies tested pharmaceuticals on more than 50,000 people in the former communist East Germany, often without the knowledge of patients, several of whom died, the Spiegel news weekly reported.
西方製藥公司在前共黨東德對逾5萬人測試藥物，病患往往不知情，造成其中數人亡故，「明鏡」週刊報導。
Some 600 clinical trials were carried out in more than 50 hospitals until the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall, the report said, citing previously unpublished documents of the East German health ministry, pharmaceutical institute and Stasi secret police.
約600件臨床試驗在超過50家醫院進行，直到1989年柏林圍牆倒塌為止，報導引述東德衛生部、藥物研究所與國家安全部秘密警察此前未公佈的檔案指出。
Many major drug companies from Germany, Switzerland and the United States took part, offering up to 800,000 West German marks （about 400,000 euros） per study, a boost for East Germany’s underfunded health care system, Spiegel said.
許多德國、瑞士與美國大藥廠參與其中，這些公司提供每件實驗多達80萬西德馬克（約40萬歐元）費用，對東德資金短缺的醫療體系是一大幫助，明鏡說。
Records showed that two people died in East Berlin during testing of Trental, a drug that improves blood circulation developed by then West German company Hoechst, which has since merged with Sanofi, the report said.
紀錄顯示，在試驗彼時西德公司「荷斯特」研發的血液循環促進藥物「循能泰」期間，2名東柏林人死亡，該公司後來與「賽諾菲」合併，該報導說。
Two more patients died in a lung clinic near the city of Magdeburg in tests of a blood pressure drug made by Sandoz, which has since been taken over by the Swiss group Novartis, according to Spiegel.
另有2名病患在試驗「山德士」製造的一種血壓藥中，命喪於馬格堡附近的一家胸腔科診所，該藥廠此後被瑞士集團的「諾華」藥廠接收，明鏡報導。
Patients were often not fully informed about the possible risks and side effects, the weekly said. Other tests involved preterm infants and a group of alcoholics suffering acute delirium who could not give informed consent. （AFP）
病患往往未完全被知會可能風險與副作用。其他試驗還涉及早產兒與一群飽受急性譫妄之苦、無法表達知情同意的酗酒者。（法新社）
新聞辭典
underfunded︰等同underfinanced，資金短缺的、財力不足的。例如︰an underfunded political party（經費不足的政黨）。
merge︰使合併、使漸消失。例句︰They sought to merge their differences.（他們試圖消除彼此間的分歧。）
informed consent︰知情同意。例句︰The most important ethical rule governing research on humans is that participants must give their informed consent before taking part in a study.（管理人體研究的最重要倫理規則是，參與者在參與研究前，必須給予其知情同意。）
資料來源 http://iservice.libertytimes.com.tw/Service/english/english.php?engno=681383&day=2013-05-22
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