Jesper Björkman, a former Helsingborgs IF player who has ALS, had one eye removed and suffered life-threatening pneumonia after side effects from an experimental drug trial in Skåne, and he has received no compensation, Pressen reported.
Björkman took part in a drug study in Skåne testing whether a new medicine could slow the disease. The drug sharply lowered his immune system and activated a virus, leaving him blind in one eye, with a painful skin reaction and a life-threatening pneumonia, his neurologist Christer Nilsson told Läkartidningen.
“Everyone I’ve talked to thinks this sounds completely absurd,” Nilsson said.
The virus that activated after the trial left Björkman blind in one eye, and the eye was eventually removed, Nilsson told Läkartidningen.
Under Svenska läkemedelsförsäkringen, the injury must be more serious than the disease the patient already has. That means a patient with a life-threatening disease can be denied compensation, while a healthier patient can receive it for milder side effects, Helsingborgs Dagblad reported.
“It’s a balance between the underlying disease and the side effect,” said Anders Hultman, CEO of Svenska läkemedelsförsäkringen. He said the insurance excludes no one and that each case is assessed individually.
Companies running clinical trials in Sweden must carry insurance covering participants, according to LIF, the Swedish pharmaceutical industry association.
Peter Andersen, a professor of neurology in Umeå, questioned how ALS patients can be recruited to trials if they receive no compensation for side effects. The denial decision has been appealed to Läkemedelsskadenämnden, the Pharmaceutical Injury Board.
Because the Swedish Medical Insurance requires the injury to be more serious than the underlying disease, and Björkman already had life-threatening ALS, Helsingborgs Dagblad reported.
Companies conducting clinical trials in Sweden must hold insurance that covers participants, according to LIF.
The decision has been appealed to the Pharmaceutical Injury Board.
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