MOSCOW, August 4. /TASS/. Russian specialists have discovered documents that prove clinical trials of unregistered pharmaceutical substances were carried out on residents of the city of Rubezhnoye, LPR, for a minimum fee, Russian Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Protection Troops commander Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov said Thursday.
Kirillov pointed out that the settlement of Rubezhnoye was liberated several weeks ago during the special military operation.
"Documents were discovered in the laboratory of the ‘Pharmbiotest’ medical center […] confirming that research was carried out in Ukraine for years in the interest of the so-called ‘big pharma’," he noted, referring to the informal name for a number of world’s leading pharmaceutical corporations.
"Clinical trials of unregistered medications that potential have serious side effects were carried out on local residents," he said.
According to Kirillov, US and European companies carried out clinical trials on Ukrainian citizens in order to avoid reputational risks and lawsuit expenses in case of failed tests.
"Payment for the volunteers was minimal, and lethal cases were easy to hide. There were also no serious inspections or supervision by the local authorities," Kirillov underscored.
He also added that servicemen, low-income citizens and mental health patients were used for these trials.
Kirillov noted that evidence was found in the medical center that it was regularly visited by Western customers, who had access to all stages of the research process.
"For their convenience, all labels on the equipment, room names and documents were duplicated in English," he underscored.