Ethics experts call for refocus of scientific review to ensure integrity of research process
In a paper published this week in the journal Science, experts caution that important ethical issues in the testing of new therapies like stem cells may not be receiving the attention they deserve. Carnegie Mellon University's Alex John London joined McGill University's Jonathan Kimmelman and Marina Emborg of the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to examine the way scientists, physicians, and regulators evaluate risk and benefit when testing new drugs in human beings for the first time. According to their report, scientists and regulators tend to focus on how individual patients should be protected from risks, and as a result, overlook how medical advance itself can be adversely affected by poorly designed clinical trials.