On Trial: Testing New Drugs in Psychiatry, 19401980

(Hardback)

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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 Mnsterlingen, 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 Kuhns 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 Mnsterlingen drug trials are historicised and situated in the periods evolving landscape of experimentation.

Author Bio

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 Knig was an independent author and historian