Published 19 September 20247 October 2024

Bodies for Rent

Thousands of so-called “professional guinea pigs” are loaning their bodies to clinical researchers in Canada each year for money and other perks that experts call exploitative and unethical. The enticements can also lead many prospective test subjects to lie in order to get into clinical studies that support their livelihoods. When that happens, data that Health Canada uses to approve drugs for the marketplace can be compromised.

Inside the world of clinical drug trials

The IJB's Rob Cribb visits The Big Story on the Frequency Podcast Network to discuss our investigation exposing the hidden realities of the clinical trials industry.

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Bodies for Rent, a documentary directed by Habiba Nosheen in collaboration with the IJB, is out now

Bodies for Rent takes us inside the hidden world of pharmaceutical drug testing. The documentary follows the experiences of two professional clinical trial subjects who make their living volunteering to consume experimental drugs in exchange for money. Economic challenges have pushed them into this line of work, where they’ve faced significant medical risks.

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Andres Plana / Toronto Star illustration. Photograph courtesy of Akelo Media/90th Parallel Productions

Subculture of professional drug trial subjects raises concerns over ethics and data reliability

Clinical trials that test drugs on healthy participants are a vital part of pharmaceutical development, but some private practices encourage subjects to lie, endangering their health and data used to approve drugs.

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