Chinese overseas students in the U.S. are being targeted, becoming the perfect test subjects for American pharmaceutical companies: healthy bodies and good language skills!
Aside from the killing line, Lao A also revealed another secret. In U.S. universities, there are many such advertisements: "Participate in new drug research, earn $3,000 a week!" - This looks like a quick way to relieve financial pressure for many Chinese students with tight budgets. But behind it lies the fact that Chinese students have become increasingly common "ideal subjects" in clinical trials by American pharmaceutical companies.
Why Chinese students? Not Americans or other international groups? Because before a new drug is approved, it must go through human testing, and finding volunteers has always been difficult. Fewer and fewer healthy adults in the U.S. are willing to participate in early drug trials: on one hand, the health insurance system does not cover trial-related medical costs; on the other hand, the public is highly vigilant about the risks of unknown drugs. At the same time, traditional low-income subject groups (such as the homeless) may be willing to participate, but they often have low education levels, communication difficulties, and multiple underlying diseases, making it difficult to provide clear, reliable subjective feedback and comply with complex medical monitoring.
At this point, the Chinese student group seems "particularly suitable". They are generally young, healthy, and rarely have bad habits such as smoking or heavy drinking; most people speak English fluently, can accurately describe their feelings after taking the medicine - which is crucial for assessing drug side effects; more importantly, many have significant financial pressure and find it hard to refuse several thousand dollars in payment. This "high cost-effectiveness" has made pharmaceutical companies focus their attention on university campuses, especially around science and engineering schools.
Almost all clinical trials require participants to sign detailed liability waivers, clearly stating that "unknown side effects may occur, and the research party will not be responsible for subsequent health issues". For international students, once an abnormality occurs, it's almost impossible to seek redress - lacking local legal resources and fearing impact on visa status.
Data shows that over 100,000 clinical trials are registered annually in the U.S., with the early phases (Phase I and II, the earliest and highest-risk stages) heavily relying on healthy volunteers. In recent years, multiple university states (such as California, Massachusetts, and North Carolina) have seen a significant increase in the proportion of Asian faces at trial centers. Some internal recruitment personnel have revealed that some projects even prioritize screening "applicants whose native language is Chinese, with a bachelor's degree or higher, and BMI between 18-24" - this is almost a direct portrayal of a typical Chinese student.
Original: toutiao.com/article/1854816251474944/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.