New Delhi, Aug 9 (IANS) Twenty-two people died during clinical trials last year, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said Tuesday, adding that their families had been paid compensation.


The minister said multinational pharma companies and clinical research bodies involved in the trials were told by the Drugs Controller General to provide compensation to the dependents of the deceased.

The deaths were also reviewed by the ethics committee. The guilty pharma companies include Merck, Wyeth, Bristol Myers, Pfizer and Sanofi, he said.