http://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/324/7344/996/d

BMJ 2002;324:996 ( 27 April )
 

News roundup

Rich countries must not exploit poorer nations for research purposes

Zosia Kmietowicz London

Companies or organisations in wealthy countries that plan to carry out research in developing countries should ensure that certain ethical standards are in place before they go ahead with studies that may hold little value to participants, warns the Nuffield Council on Bioethics.

In a report published this week the council advises developed nations to pay special attention to how they plan to gain consent from the people they wish to participate in trials. They need to take into account cultural considerations, such as local customs and traditions, the standards of care available locally, and what will happen to participants once the trial ends.

In the past some research projects have been criticised for exploiting participants and failing to provide the same standard of care to everyone who took part.

In 1997 a study in Thailand to test whether a short course of antiviral drugs during pregnancy prevented the transmission of HIV from mothers to children was condemned for giving the control group a placebo when it was already known that a longer course of the drug zidovudine reduced transmission of the virus.

"It is critically important that the local social, cultural, and economic context is taken into account when research is designed," said Dr Fred Binka, a member of the working party that wrote the report. "There are concerns that people in poorer countries will sometimes bear the risk of research while those in wealthier countries receive the benefits."

There is a huge gap between rich and poor countries in people’s health (figure), yet only 10% of the £35bn-40bn ($51bn-58bn; €57bn-65bn) spent on health research each year is devoted to the health problems of 90% of the world’s population, says the report.

Developing countries urgently need research into diseases such as tuberculosis and malaria but lack much of the expertise to do it themselves, hence the need for ethical investment in research from developed countries. "We hope these recommendations will allow research to be conducted so that it has the greatest chance of providing useful information, without risking exploitation of vulnerable people," said Professor Sir Kenneth Calman, chairman of the report’s working party.

The Ethics of Research Related to Healthcare in Developing Countries is accessible at the council’s website at www.nuffieldbioethics.org
 
 

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