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FEBRUARY 23, 2001

A Pennsylvania biotechnology company has proposed to conduct an experiment on Latin American infants considered unethical in the United States.

Discovery Laboratories wants to conduct tests on newborn infants who have a serious lung disease. The company makes a drug that it might want to use to treat respiratory distress syndrome in the United States.

If the company wants to do that, it needs the approval of the Food and Drug Administration. But the FDA doesn't normally approve tests that involve using placebos for potentially fatal illnesses which already have proven treatments.

Get the Story:
Pa. Firm Asks FDA To Back Experiment Forbidden in U.S. (The Washington Post 2/23)