On Trial - (Social Histories of Medicine) by Marietta Meier & Mario König & Magaly Tornay (Paperback)

About the Book

The book explores the early days of industry-sponsored clinical research in psychiatry. Examining how the clinic, patients, doctors, nursing staff, corporations, and authorities interacted, it reconstructs the experimental practices in a psychiatric hospital from 1940-80 whilst telling a larger story: the changing history of clinical trials.

Book Synopsis

The heroic story of the invention of antidepressants is a key part of the psychopharmaceutical turn. On Trial revolves around one of its pioneers, psychiatrist Roland Kuhn, who practiced in Münsterlingen, a state-run psychiatric hospital in Switzerland. Kuhn became famous for the 'discovery' of the first antidepressant, Tofranil, and more recently notorious for his numerous trials on often unsuspecting patients.

Largely based on the extensive and previously inaccessible sources of Kuhn's private archive, the book delves into the early days of industry-sponsored clinical research in psychiatry. It examines how the clinic, patients, doctors, nursing staff, corporations, and authorities interacted in the trials.

Conducted from the 1940s to 1980s, the Münsterlingen drug trials are historicised and situated in the period's evolving landscape of experimentation.

From the Back Cover

Delving into the intricate web of clinical research and psychotropic drugs, On trial illuminates the captivating story of psychiatrist Roland Kuhn. Long celebrated as the discoverer of the first antidepressant Tofranil, Kuhn has more recently become the subject of controversy after patients exposed his extensive drug testing on unwitting subjects at the Münsterlingen Psychiatric Clinic in Switzerland. But is it fair to condemn him according to today's ethical standards, which themselves emerged from the research practices of his time?
Drawing on Kuhn's extensive, newly accessible private archive, this book explores the early era of industry-sponsored clinical research in psychiatry. It unravels the interplay between the clinic, patients, physicians, nurses, corporations, and authorities, examining the forces that converged during the experiments. Spanning the decades from the 1940s to the 1980s, the Münsterlingen drug trials are meticulously situated within the evolving landscape of medical experimentation. Which people and institutions were involved, and who knew what? How were substances tested, which patients were affected? According to which patterns were the drugs administered? When did which values, guidelines, and standards apply, and what role did they play in practice?
On trial not only reconstructs the Münsterlingen drug tests but also weaves them into a broader tapestry about the historical development of clinical trials. This thought-provoking exploration enriches our understanding of the psychopharmaceutical journey while challenging us to consider the enduring ethical dilemmas that underpin medical research.

About the Author

Marietta Meier is an Associate Professor of History at the University of Zurich
Magaly Tornay is a Postdoctoral researcher at the University of Bern
Mario König was an independent author and historian