This practice will now become the norm as the guidelines bring all traditional Indian medicinal practices, grouped as AYUSH, under the ambit of clinical trial rules. After announcing the need to streamline clinical trial procedures in India, the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) has made good on its promise. It’s recently released draft National Ethical Guidelines for Biomedical and Health Research involving Human Participants lays down the rules on informed consent of people participating in trials. Scientists had also claimed the drug to be, being developed from a plant known in Ayurveda for its medicinal properties, as one of the first instances where the rigour of scientific trials was being applied to traditional Indian medicine. A Parliamentary Committee in 2013 had said that the norms and procedures regarding consent had been overlooked in the trial.

Source: dna July 31, 2016 05:37 UTC