“That’s why,” she pressed on, “we’re so excited to be offering these trials—not only to ensure that the treatment is safe and effective, but to allow a few lucky participants to experience the benefits of Obexity at no cost.”
“Great, we get to be your guinea pigs,” the same joker wisecracked, to scattered laughter.
“Not at all,” Dr. Saito said. The slide changed. “We’ve already completed the first phase of clinical trials, virtually all of them extremely successful.”
“Virtually?” Lizette’s eyes slanted toward Emmett; he rolled his own.
“We’re now looking for a larger group of participants for the Phase Two trial. It’s expected to start in May, will last fourteen months, and here’s the fun part: each participant will receive a stipend of fifteen hundred dollars for each month they remain in the trial.”
Emmett wasn’t the only person to pull out his phone and calculate the total potential earnings. “That’s twenty-one grand,” he said to Lizette.
“Before you get too excited,” Dr. Saito went on, “I will say that for the second phase we’re targeting a fairly narrow participant profile, and some of you unfortunately won’t qualify. Anyone with a body mass index under thirty-five, for example.”
A moderately proportioned blonde snatched up her purse, forced her way out of her row, and stormed from the room, cursing under her breath. “Freaking waste of time…”
Dr. Saito continued as if no such disturbance had occurred. “If you’re interested in moving forward in the process, you’ll be asked to complete an online application describing your medical history, weight loss goals, and availability. You’ll receive an email with the link in the next twenty-four hours. From there, we’ll narrow down a smaller group to be medically assessed to ensure you’re healthy enough to participate.”
“But not too healthy, right?” said the jokester.
Dr. Saito paused, a glint of steel in her smile now.
“Of course we want you healthy. That’s the whole reason Obexity was created.” She cast her gaze across the group, her eyes falling on Emmett, as if by coincidence.
“For the greatest health and happiness of the country.”
Investigative Report Prepared for Monstera BioSciences
BY PRENTICE & DARROW LLP
Excerpt from “Part 1: Background” (p. 19)
The participant was also active on the social media platform Instagram, where he frequently shared photos and videos about his life and weight loss journey… Collected by Monstera BioSciences as part of its standard participant monitoring procedures, these posts bear witness to the transformative impact ephaloma-copiramate had on the participant’s life—whether positive or negative, this report will endeavor to uncover.
Appendix B—Instagram Post
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