Ethics In Biomedical Research

Examines the many ethical issues related to biomedical research, including the use of animals in research, research on human subjects, clinical trials, international research ethics policies, and other related topics.

When a young man named Jesse Gelsinger died in 1999 as a result of his participation in a gene transfer research study, regulatory agencies in the United States began to take a closer look at what was happening in medical research. The resulting temporary shutdown of some of the most prestigious academic research centres confirmed what various recent reports in the United States as well as Canada had claimed; that the current system of regulatory oversight was in need of improvement. Law and Ethics in Biomedical Research uses the Gelinger case as a touchstone, illustrating how three major aspects of that case - the flaws in the regulatory system, conflicts of interest, and legal liability - embody the major challenges in the current medical research environment. Editors Trudo Lemmens and Duff R. Waring, along with a host of top scholars in the field, demonstrate why existing models of research review and human subject protection are in need of improvement, and how more stringent regulatory and legal means can be used to strengthen the protection of research subjects and the integrity of research. The contributors also address conflicts of interest, paying particular attention to the growing commercialization of medical research, as well as the legal liability of scientific investigators, research institutions, and governmental agencies. Legal liability is a growing concern in medical research and this fascinating study is, in the international context, one of the first to explore the liability of various parties involved in the research enterprise.

On February 26, 2020, the Board on Health Sciences Policy of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine hosted a 1-day public workshop in Washington, DC, to examine current and emerging bioethical issues that might arise in the context of biomedical research and to consider research topics in bioethics that could benefit from further attention. The scope of bioethical issues in research is broad, but this workshop focused on issues related to the development and use of digital technologies, artificial intelligence, and machine learning in research and clinical practice; issues emerging as nontraditional approaches to health research become more widespread; the role of bioethics in addressing racial and structural inequalities in health; and enhancing the capacity and diversity of the bioethics workforce. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.

In this book, scholars with different disciplinary and national backgrounds argue for possible answers and analyse case studies on current issues of governance in biomedical research. These issues comprise among others the research-care distinction, risk evaluation in early human trials, handling of incidental findings, nocebo effects, cluster randomized trials, publication bias, or consent in biobank research. This book demonstrates how new technologies and research possibilities multiply or intensify already known governance challenges, leaving room for ethical analysis and complex moral choices. Clinical researchers, research ethics committee members and research ethicists have all to deal with such challenges on a daily basis. While general reflection on core concepts of research ethics is seldom pointless, those confronted with hard moral choices do need more practical and contextualized reflection on the said issues. This book particularly provides such contextualized reflections and aims to inform all those who study, conduct, regulate, fund, or participate in biomedical research.

This book presents cutting edge research on the new ethical challenges posed by biomedical Big Data technologies and practices. ‘Biomedical Big Data’ refers to the analysis of aggregated, very large datasets to improve medical knowledge and clinical care. The book describes the ethical problems posed by aggregation of biomedical datasets and re-use/re-purposing of data, in areas such as privacy, consent, professionalism, power relationships, and ethical governance of Big Data platforms. Approaches and methods are discussed that can be used to address these problems to achieve the appropriate balance between the social goods of biomedical Big Data research and the safety and privacy of individuals. Seventeen original contributions analyse the ethical, social and related policy implications of the analysis and curation of biomedical Big Data, written by leading experts in the areas of biomedical research, medical and technology ethics, privacy, governance and data protection. The book advances our understanding of the ethical conundrums posed by biomedical Big Data, and shows how practitioners and policy-makers can address these issues going forward.

The present text is the revised/updated version of the CIOMS International Ethical Guidelines for Biomedical Research Involving Human Subjects. It consists of 21 guidelines with commentaries. A prefatory section outlines the historical background and the revision process and includes an introduction an account of earlier instruments and guidelines a statement of ethical principles and a preamble. An Appendix lists the items to be included in the research protocol to be submitted for scientific and ethical review and clearance. The Guidelines relate mainly to ethical justification and scientific validity of research; ethical review; informed consent; vulnerability - of individuals groups communities and populations; women as research subjects; equity regarding burdens and benefits; choice of control in clinical trials; confidentiality; compensation for injury; strengthening of national or local capacity for ethical review; and obligations of sponsors to provide health-care services. They are designed to be of use to countries in defining national policies on the ethics of biomedical research involving human subjects applying ethical standards in local circumstances and establishing or improving ethical review mechanisms. A particular aim is to reflect the conditions and the needs of low-resource countries and the implications for multinational or transnational research in which they may be partners.

Comprehensive guide for researchers to the ethical issues raised by different kinds of biomedical research.