THE DRUG was meant to reverse ageing, but an Oxford University graduate died of an allergic reaction soon after her sister, a qualified general practitioner, injected her with the experimental drug.
A British coroner's inquest heard how Mrs Yolanda Cox, 22, volunteered to be a guinea pig for a drug being developed by her pathologist mother. The drug was also thought to be effective against cancer and diabetes.
But Mrs Cox, who had been married for nine months, suffered a major allergic reaction after being given three times the normal dose as part of a test, said The Daily Mail.
Her sister, Dr Yvonne Pambakian, worked for Amro Biotech, a pharmaceutical company set up by their mother, Dr Apri Matossian-Rogers, a pathologist.
It had spent more than ?3 million ($7.2m) developing the drug, known as B71, said Times of London.
Mrs Cox agreed to the trial after being mistakenly diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome - thinking that the experimental drug could cure this condition.
But she collapsed soon after being injected with the drug at the family home in Hampstead, North London, two years ago.
Her sister, Dr Pambakian, 38, had been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter, but never charged.
Hospital doctors and paramedics described feeling uneasy after her family resisted requests to give them information about the drug even when she was in a critical condition in intensive care, the inquest heard.
Ambulance staff were the first to contact police with their concerns.
Said Dr Alexander Mackay of the Royal Free Hospital: 'The family were extremely reluctant to go into detail about the drug. They wouldn't say what was in it, and said I didn't need to know anything and the drug was extremely safe.
'I said 'Yolanda is extremely unwell', and I asked for a sample of the drug. Some time later, the family brought in paper information in two files.'
Itchiness in arm
Mrs Cox's husband, Patrick, 24, said his wife had initially complained about itchiness in her arm after the jab.
He said: 'Two minutes later she was inside sitting on the sofa and she was struggling for breath.'
Hospital tests carried out against her relatives' wishes revealed that Mrs Cox's brain was irreversibly damaged.
Four days later her life support machine was turned off, despite threats of legal action from her family.
Dr Pambakian told the inquest she had previously injected herself and her mother, and a terminally ill cancer patient with no adverse effects.
She said that the high dose was given to achieve better results and rejected the suggestion that they were all taking part in a drugs trial.
Despite this, Dr Pambakian was suspended from practising for more than a year by the General Medical Council and is currently banned from prescribing drugs while an investigation is completed into her conduct.
Amro Biotech is now free to continue researching the drug.
The coroner recorded a verdict of misadventure.
Speaking outside their home in north London, Mrs Cox's brother-in-law, Mr Haig Pambakian, said: 'Apart from the fact it tragically involved her own sister, there is nothing more to it.
'It was an allergic reaction that could have happened to anyone. These were legitimate trials. They had permission to carry out these injections.'
Mr Pambakian said the family firm was no longer involved with the drug.
'If that had happened to your family would you still want to be involved with it?'
