Doctor named in drug trials appointed ethics body chief

INDORE: In a move that could be against the ethics of a transparent probe, the authorities of Mahatma Gandhi Medical College have appointed Dr Ashish Patel as secretary of ethics committee whose name was mired in the ‘unethical clinical trials.’
In January 2012, the union health ministry had restricted Dr Anil Bharani and Dr Ashish Patel of Mahatma Gandhi Medical College (MGM) to keep off, after investigations indicated that they flouted clinical trial norms.Strikingly, Dr Patel has replaced Dr Bharani as secretary of the Ethics Committee to enquire into the allegations raised by one Anil Saude holding doctors responsible for death of his mother during the clinical trial procedure.
The matter came to fore after Dr Patel wrote a letter to Saude asking him to appear before the sub-committee on December 31 this year to register his views. Recently, the director of National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST), D. Hanumantrai had shot off a letter to Dr K.D Bhargava, chairman of ethics committee asking him to look into the complaint of Anil Saude. NCST had directed Dr Bhargava to take appropriate action in the matter and submit its compliance report within fortnight.
To show its activeness in taking up the complaint, Dr Patel wrote a letter to Saude on November 16 stating that they held a meeting on 13.10.12 at medical college for registering his views but he didn’t appear. However, Saude said he didn’t receive any such communication from ethics committee. Now, next meeting is scheduled on December 31, where president of sub-committee former Justice P.D Muley, Padamshree Kutty Menon and advocate Yogesh Mittal will hear the complaint.