Biology 398 course

The Commercialization of Clinical Trials:  An Examination of Resulting Ethical Issues

Dakota Fisher-Vance
13 December 2010
Biology in Society Senior Seminar

Dakota Fisher-Vance
13 December 2010
Biology in Society Senior Seminar

        With the age of information technology upon us, the methods people use to search for information is drastically changing. One of the most influential causes of this change has been the Internet. Information that has historically been difficult to access, or was only accessible to certain individuals, is now available to the general public in a matter of seconds. While the benefits and consequences of the Internet have been widespread, one sector that has been significantly impacted is health care, thanks to newly available medical information. 

Ethical Use of Human Subjects

1. Globalization of Clinical Trials

2. Case Study

3. Placebos

Globalization of Clinical Trials

 Why Categorize?

“The general public must infer mental illness from four signals: psychiatric symptoms, social skills deficits, physical appearance, and labels”

-Corrigan, 2000

“When we know the sequence of the molecule that makes up all our genes, we will know what it is to be human. When we know what our DNA looks like, we will know why some of us are rich and some poor, some healthy and some sick, some powerful and some weak” (Richard Lewontin)

 Medical Information on the Internet

Internet Code of Ethics

Guiding Principles

1. Candor – Sites should clearly indicate who owns the site, what the purpose of the site is, and conflicting interests the site manager might have

 2. Honesty – Sites should honestly portray all claims about efficacy, performance, or benefits of products/services