Clinical trials: how taking the pills may pay those bills

theguardian.com:

Fancy a relaxing two-week getaway where you get your travel expenses paid, plus your own en suite room with all mod cons including a TV, PlayStation games console and free wifi? What’s more, it won’t cost you anything – in fact, they are so keen for you to come that you’ll be paid £4,200.

If that sounds appealing, then you might want to think about booking a stay at FluCamp. However, as the name suggests, there’s a catch to this “holiday”: FluCamp runs residential clinical trials in the UK to test potential treatments for colds and flu.

It is one of a number of companies and organisations offering sizeable payments – up to £7,000 in some cases – plus “restaurant-standard” meals and other perks to tempt people to take part in clinical drugs trials.

As well as the money, you will also have the satisfaction of knowing you are helping to advance medical science, just like the thousands who have taken part in Covid-19 vaccine trials.

Adverts appealing for volunteers for paid clinical trials have been appearing in newspapers such as Metro, and the websites of a number of healthcare organisations are currently recruiting people. Some are even offering “refer a friend” payments.

The trials are to test medicines and treatments for a wide range of diseases and conditions – from eczema and obsessive compulsive disorder to malaria, Parkinson’s disease and gout.

The organisations running the trials talk about how this can be a great opportunity for students and others to earn cash while catching up on their studies or sleep, or sitting around playing games consoles and watching Netflix.

But while the money will be tempting to some, many people will be wary – mainly because they would be worried about the risk of suffering an adverse