page 18
daily nebraskan
Wednesday, September 12, 1979
Harris laboratories off er students cash for experiments
By Kent Warneke
Some UNL students have found a way to make $500
to $1,000 for a minimum amount of work, according to
Dr. James McClurg, vice president and technical director
of Harris Laboratories.
The 46-year-old Harris Laboratories sells their research
and evaluation services to clients.
Three UNL students, Blanche Sindelar, Rocky Yapp
and Mitch Purnie volunteered for the studies.
"I did a study that took two weekends, from Friday
until Monday and we were taking an antibiotic," Sindelar
said. "What it really came down to was that I got $400 for
100 blood samples.
Yapp said that he wasn't worried about getting sick
from the experiment, but he wanted to know everything
that was going to happen and what type of drug he was
taking.
Purnie's experiment, however, did not require the time
commitments Yapp's and Sindelar's did and did not
require taking any blood samples.
"I WENT IN one Friday night and one of the staff
members fixed me my favorite drink until I was slightly
buzzed to where I probably would have had a hangover in
the morning. Then I drank Alka-Selzer to see if it would
cure it and picked up $50," Purnie said.
"We calculate the money earned on the length of the
time commitment," McClurg said. "A study may range in
time from five to 24 hours to 20 straight days, and the
money will range from $50 to $1 ,000 dollars." Harris labs
also do agriculture research pf soil, plants and herbicides
and test race horses and dogs for illegal administration of
drugs. It is their human studies division that involves
people , McClurg said .
"The division has been active for 10-12 years and we
test pharmaceutics, cosmetic and household products and
make evaluations of their products which are required by
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federal regulations," McClurg said.
ACCORDING TO McCLURG, most of the evaluations
that are done are for products as common as aspirin and
simple antibiotics, which need a bioavailability test.
"A bioavailability test is simply a test to see if a change
in shape, color or size of a medication will get into the
bloodstream as fast as the old form would," McClurg said.
"It's not like we're testing some exotic new drug to see
if it works or not. In fact mosf of the time it is some prod
uct already on the market which is being tested to see if a
new form is just as effective," McClurg said.
Nevertheless, as profitable as the experiments might
seem, McClurg said that constantly are in need of
volunteers.
"WE USED approximately 3,000 volunteers in a year
on studies because they're going on continuously, but we
still find that people are afraid to volunteer," McClurg
said. "If we could just get them to realize the incredibly
extensive and strick protocals we have.
"Every evaluation done at the laboratories is reviewed
by FDA, the client's themselves, the laboratories' medical
staff and a special committee set up, which is completely
separate from us. They all have complete veto power
on any evaluation," McClurg said.
"The volunteers never have to sign a waiver or release
form, we take complete responsibility for whatever
happens," McClurg said. "We have a full staff of physi
cians, nurses and technicians who have CPR training. And
we're very close to Lincoln General Hospital in case any
thing serious should happen.
"HOWEVER, WE have never had a serious problem, by
which I mean anything more serious than a headache,
stomachache or diarrhea," he said.
Both Yapp and Sindelar echoed McClurg's feeling on
the safety precautions administered.
"I know everything that was going on and we were free
to do what we wanted while there. I think it's safe enough
to recommend it to anyone who needs some money,"
Yapp said.
Sindelar said that she, too, felt that the laboratories
were safe. The only reason she volunteered was for the
money, she said.
"MOST PEOPLE who are wary of the things we do
become supportive after they understand what the evalua
tions are for," McClurg said.
Another type of research that the laboratories do is the
evaluation of household and cosmetic products through
the use of skin-patch tests, administered to a large group
of people.
"The standard procedure is for a patch to be put on
the volunteers every other day for three weeks with
samples of the product on the patch. Then we check to
see if any allergies or skin reactions show up," McClurg
said.
"We've done some work with bands and sorority
houses here in Lincoln. Right now we're doing one with a
church with 250 volunteers each earning $25," McClurg
said. "You'd have to have an awful lot of bake sales to
earn $2,500 to $3,000 for something as easy as wearing
skin patches."
McClurg said they are looking for average, healthy
young adults who can pass a physical to become volun
teers. He indicated that a high percentage of applicants
pass. Even if they don't, they are still paid for taking the
physical.
FDA regulations, however, will not allow female volun
teers to participate in 85 percent of the studies done,
McClurg added.
"We still have a publicity problem though and need
volunteers," McClurg said. "We hope that more people
will volunteer, because after all, it's different way to
spend a weekend."
Senator says Cuba given Russian subs
WASHINGTON-The Soviet Union is arming Cuba
with weapons systems that could pose a major threat to
our oil supplies, demonstrating a pattern of behavior that
is "hostile to the interests of the United States," Sen.
Henry M. Jackson said Tuesday.
o)d ciliQiiitSS
Jackson, in a speech on the Senate floor, said the
Soviets have given Cuba two submarines, including one
that could mine U.S. coastal waters, threatening U.S. oil
tankers. The other is a training vessel, Jackson said.
Research beans
VANCOUVER, British Columbia-A dozen volunteers
will be paid $25 a day to eat beans in a research project
aimed at developing a gasless variety of the vegetable
that could feed the-world cheaply without discomfort or
embarrassment.
Dr. Brent Skura, 3 1 , a microbiologist and food scientist
at the University of British Columbia has a $36,000 grant
from the Canadian Agriculture Ministry for the project,
which he plans to begin early next year.
The volunteers will eat specially doctored bean prod
ucts to determine which produce the least gas. To vary
their menu, beans will be made into muffins and soups
as well as prepared in the more common dishes such as
baked beans and bean salad.
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