The volunteers for testing new medicines are mainly from Lombardy: many from Milan, followed by males from Varese and Como (the 75%) and mostly young
Two days as a guinea pig in a Swiss clinic for 1000 francs. But if the drug to be tested requires a more complex study, the cachet rises and you can even pocket three thousand. The two hundred names appearing in a register kept in a room of the Cantonal Pharmacist's Office in Mendrisio are almost all Lombard in exchange for Swiss currency. Many Milanese, closely followed by Varese and Como, male (the 75%) and mostly young; but there are also elderly and middle-aged people who take advantage of the circumstance to save on the cost of the ticket that a complete check-up, such as the one they undergo before the tests, would entail for their finances.
(… continue on CORRIERE DELLA SERA MILAN / CHRONICLE 27 September 2015 – by Gianluca Mattei)