The average value of each life lost during clinical drug trials in India was just Rs 2.2 lakh in 2011, an analysis of data tabled in Parliament yesterday by the Union Health Ministry revealed.

The shocking data also revealed that the value of life is just getting cheaper year after year. In 2010, the average compensation paid for clinical drug trial deaths was Rs 3.2 lakh.

The shockingly low-level of reparation for lives lost in clinical drug trials in India is being attributed to the fact that Indian clinical trial industry is largely unregulated and the government has so far not framed strict rules for compensation in such cases.

Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad assured parliament that the required guidelines would be finalized soon. He claimed that draft guidelines for determining compensation to be paid in such cases had already been prepared and comments from public had been sought.

Speaking on the topic, he said, "The government expects to finalise these guidelines soon keeping in view the rights and well-being of trial subjects."

The total number of deaths in India last year during clinical drug trials was 438, but the SAEs (Serious Adverse Events) of death attributed to clinical drug trials were found to be in merely 16 cases.

Till June 2012, a total of 211 people lost their lives during clinical trials of drugs, but the real reasons of their deaths are still being assessed.