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During college, I participated in medical trials at AstraZeneca as an easy way to make money. They almost exclusively asked for male test subjects. One of my f
by depressedpanda 5y ago
During college, I participated in medical trials at AstraZeneca as an easy way to make money. They almost exclusively asked for male test subjects.
One of my female friends also wanted to earn money that way, and called them asking why. Their response was essentially that medical trials are very expensive, and men are a cheaper resource. I.e., women have ovaries and a set amount of eggs, and therefore would potentially be more adversely affected by complications from the experimental drugs, so the insurance was a lot more expensive.
- hnbad 5y agoNot to dispute what your friend says they were told but I think it's more likely that they want to rule out pregnancies than that they are worried about affecting fertility. Having a test subject sign up unknowingly pregnant or become pregnant during the trial is probably a massive insurance headache even if you have the test subject sign paperwork to reduce liability.
- at_a_remove 5y agoWhen I did med trials, I was told -- where you are in a menstrual cycle matters for measuring the half-life of a given med. Men, lacking those cycles, are easier to wrangle than trying to select for a group of women who fit the study criteria and also happen to be at the same point on their cycle.