On trial

Name: On trial
Price: 68.99 AUD
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ISBN: 9781526194824

Testing new drugs in psychiatry, 1940–1980

Marietta Meier, Mario König, Magaly Tornay

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Paperback

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English

Manchester University Press
29 April 2026

Clinical trials; History of medicine; Psychopharmacology; Psychiatry

Series: Social Histories of Medicine

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 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 Mnsterlingen drug trials are historicised and situated in the period's evolving landscape of experimentation.

By: Marietta Meier, Mario König, Magaly Tornay
Imprint: Manchester University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 216mm, Width: 140mm, Spine: 19mm
Weight: 421g
ISBN: 9781526194824
ISBN 10: 1526194821
Series: Social Histories of Medicine
Pages: 356
Publication Date: 29 April 2026
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Primary , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

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.

Reviews for On trial: Testing new drugs in psychiatry, 1940–1980

'Drawing on extraordinarily rich archival access—patient files, administrative records, company documents, and, crucially, the private papers of Vera and Roland Kuhn—the authors offer a dense reconstruction of how psychiatric drug testing evolved between the 1940s and 1980s. The result is a compelling account of shifting ethical and scientific norms: from descriptive case studies to double-blind trials; from an absence of patient information to mandatory informed-consent procedures.' Benoit Majerus, Social History of Medicine -- .