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Drug Testing Ethics

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Drug Testing
Tests done on drugs are usually sponsored by drug companies, and researchers, therefore, are reluctant to submit their studies unless the results are positive or significant. They also believe that journals would be reluctant to publish their results otherwise. Now, however, editors of the US journals are considering a plan to force the drug companies to disclose tests that shed unfavorable lights on their products. They are considering a proposal that would require drug firms to register drug tests at the outset as a prerequisite to have their results published. Discuss the implications of the above proposal.

The transparency of research data from clinical trials although not necessarily the panacea, could be a step towards mitigating unnecessary deaths and suffering of patients, waste of resources in terms of redundant research, and waste of taxpayers’ money.

As an example, the drug maker Merck concealed that its drug against pain, marketed as Vioxx, had a fatal side effect that causes heart attacks. The use of Vioxx has caused an estimated 100,000 incidents of heart attacks and 10,000 deaths to patients administered with the drug. The Vioxx incident is not the only example of the costs of a blanket policy of secrecy. It is evident that a policy of disclosure would not only prevent widespread public health disaster, but could also serve far-reaching consequences. It is plausible that public access to research data could potentially yield much valuable new information to aid the development of new products by independent scientists and doctors.

By making drug companies liable to publish full, unadulterated data from clinical trials, it would open the door for efficacy and safety claims by drug companies to be placed under scrutiny. It allows for an open system of checks and balances to be established and hence prevent any misrepresentation of

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