By P. Jayram, India Correspondent

NEW DELHI, INDIA - India's premier medical institution says 49 babies died at the institute during the past 21/2 years while under clinical trials for testing new drugs.

'The Aiims paediatrics department conducted 42 sets of trials on 4,142 babies - 2,728 of them below the age of one - since Jan 1, 2006,' said the NGO, Uday Foundation for Congenital Defects and Rare Blood Groups, quoting the response.

Aiims said five foreign manufactured drugs were tested during the trials to determine their efficacy in the treatment of various diseases, including zinc deficiency and blood pressure related problems.

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