In the backdrop of Indore drug trials, Madhya Pradesh government today said a law would be formulated to conduct human clinical trials in the state.

Announcing this in the state Assembly today, state health minister Mahendra Hardia said a three-member committee headed by principal secretary of health department will be set up to draft a bill which would be tabled in the next session, he said.

Hardia was replying to a calling attention motion moved by Congress MLA, Ajay Singh, independent MLA Paras Saklecha and others.

He said at present drug trials in Madhya Pradesh are goverened by central laws as there is no separate law for the same in the state.

Ajay Singh had alleged that drug trials were being conducted in MGM College in Indore illegally without taking the consent of the patients.

The minister informed the House that in Indore clinical trials of drugs were conducted on 2,365 patients including 1,644 children and 721 adults with their consent only.

Hardia said forms to be filled by patients before undergoing such trials are also filled in Hindi so that they do not have any difficulty in understanding its meaning.

He said wherever drug trials are conducted, an Ethics Committee was also formed. The MGM Medical College's Ethics Committee has still not received any complaint on the issue of conducting trials by keeping patients in the dark, he said.

Earlier, moving the motion, Ajay alleged that drug trials were being conducted in MGM college illegally without taking the consent of the patients and six doctors were paid over Rs two crore for the purpose by foreign companies.

The doctors were also obliged with free trips to Singapore and Bangkok, the Congress MLA added.

He also demanded that like Andhra Pradesh where drug trials are banned, Madhya Pradesh also impose ban on this practice.

Hardia said the committee will also study provisions of ban imposed in Andhra Pradesh on conducting drug trials.

Intervening in the debate, state's panchayat and rural development Minister, Gopal Bhargava said the scars on his face too are a result of drug trial conducted on him when he was suffering from small pox.