Ryan Wilson, a 20-year-old British student from London who is among the six volunteers that suffered severe reactions after participating in the trial of the leukemia drug TGN1412, might lose his fingers and toes.
“I'm definitely going to lose bits of my fingers and toes. I'm told it's like frostbite and my fingers will just fall off. And they say I could be in here another six months,” he said in an interview to a tabloid.
Wilson, who participated in the trial to pay for driving lessons, was the worst affected of the six volunteers who enrolled for the trials for a payment of US$5,300 each. His limbs have turned black in parts where the flesh is dead.
“I had heart failure, kidney failure, pneumonia, septicemia and liver failure and was ventilated on 99 per cent oxygen. When I woke up in intensive care after almost three weeks unconscious, I only realized how serious my injuries were when I saw that my hands and feet were black. Then I put two and two together. Three fingers were already shriveled,” Wilson said. He is now being treated in London's Northwick Park Hospital.
According to the student, before the trial that the only side effect that he was told about was nauseas or headaches. But things went terribly wrong and upon waking, he was told that he was lucky to have survived. “From what I've been told, I'm not supposed to be here. When I came around from the sedation, most of the doctors who came to see me had a shocked look on their faces and said, 'You're lucky to be here'. One told me I was a hero for withstanding the punishment my body took,” Wilson said.
Now, Wilson, who will have to forget about following his aspiration of being a plumber, has decided to bring about legal action against Parexel, the company conducting the trials, and TeGenero, the maker of TGN1412. UK's Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency said that a preliminary investigation did not reveal any product contamination or unlawful practices in the trial. However, a panel would be set up to look into the tragedy.
Meanwhile, Wilson's mother Marion Flanagan said she was thankful her son survived. “When I first saw him in intensive care I thought he was gone. We've been kept completely in the dark about what happened that day of the trials. It's a constant battle to get answers. I'm very angry,” she added.
