Medicine/medical procedures testing on children... any pros?

I work for a pharmaceutical manufacturer. When we make new drugs, we're allowed to test them on children when we obtain testing rights from the FDA.

Similar to testing things on animals, how do you feel about medical laboratories testing medical procedures/medicine on children? To be approved for testing, there has to be some indication of it's usefulness, but it's not fully approved into the market.

Is this ethical? Are there any pros rather than cons in doing so?

At age 13 and 14 my daughter participated in both a clinical trial for a drug and numerous MRI scans while performing tasks. Full disclosure was given. She dropped out of the drug test, as it was not helping her condition, but continued with the MRI s as long as she was eligible. To help others is important and hoping these tests will help others. The monitoring done was very professional and took her health into highest consideration. She received free doctor exams in full and blood work through-out. If needed, I know she would again be willing. Not a morality issue in our home

Maybe this is a selfish way of thinking, but I don't approve of testing drugs on children. I think it's almost a form of abuse to inflict this on helpless children who don't have the capacity to make the decision for themselves. If the child suffers from an illness which has no known cure, or is close to death and this is a last resort, then I think it's worth trying anything. Other than that, we must be very careful. In many cases, these drugs may have serious or long term effects. Assuming the child survives, how would anyone satisfactorily explain that the parents gave permission for a drug company to use him/her as a guinea pig? In addition to that if the drug companies offer monetary compensation to the parents, chances are that they would attract people who are already financially disadvantaged. This is also questionable. Does financial standing in society then become the determining factor for the experiments or testing: Those who are affluent eventually get the benefits after the drugs are approved, but the poor who were the guinea pigs, suffer the consequences if the drugs turn out to be unsafe? This sounds rather draconian. Animal rights activists are right to protect animals from being tortured in experiments, but if the only option is to experiment on children, then I totally disagree.