The Hindu
05/15/2010
Bill Gates, co-founder of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, on Friday denied knowledge of the controversy over alleged violations of ethics during clinical trials of HPV (human papilloma virus) vaccine conducted by a U.S.-based non-governmental organisation for a pharmaceutical company.
Bill and Melinda Gates had funded PATH, that conducted the ‘trial for a pharmaceutical company in the backwards districts of Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) that had approved the clinical trials asked the State governments to stop any further trials after the matter was brought to their notice.
Attempting to steer clear of the issue, Mr. Gates told a group of journalists here that HPV had been approved for private marketing in the U.S. and many other countries were using it. However, while insisting that he did not have any knowledge of the issue, Mr. Gates asked the journalists they were aware of the condition of cervical cancer patients. “You should visit a hospital where women with cervical cancer are treated. It is a bad disease,” he said.