If I had a nickel for every time someone said to me, “I don’t want to be a guinea pig!”, I could probably finance that dream trip to Tahiti. My usual response is to borrow from my wise colleague Lisa, and say “Well, you know that guinea pigs don’t get to choose, and in our clinical trials you always have that option….”. This retort isn’t always persuasive, however, part of our mission and vision is to educate the community about the process of clinical trial participation. If this encourages one person to view research a bit differently, then maybe that is enough.
The irony of the whole “guinea pig” discussion to me is that Americans spend between 30 and 40 BILLION dollars a year on dietary supplements – more than 4 billion on weight loss supplements alone. Although dietary supplement manufacturers must register their facilities with the FDA, they are not required to get FDA approval before producing or selling dietary supplements, and they do not have to prove safety or effectiveness of their products. I heard a recent news story on yet another round of FDA efforts to police the manufacture and distribution of weight loss supplements containing the banned and harmful ingredient sibutramine. Sibutramine has been prohibited for use in the United States since October of 2010 because it is known to pose health risks to individuals who have history of cardiovascular disease.
Many of the supplements currently on the market and readily available – sexual enhancement, weight loss, body building, etc. – advertise to be “all natural”. Well, so are Botulinum toxin and cyanide……
By contrast, ALL of the clinical trial programs here at JCCR are FDA-monitored and evaluated for both safety and effectiveness. In fact, this industry is highly regulated as can be attested to by anyone who has taken part in a trial with us and slogged through a twenty page consent form. We mean business when it comes to participant safety. As a result, JCCR is recognized by the industry as a premier clinical research company.
So, as far as I’m concerned, rodents rank! The mere mention of those little mammals gives me an opportunity to set the record straight on the reality of clinical trials. Go guinea pigs!!!