Ethics takes centre stage at The YRG CARE Bioethics Symposium

Ethics is about what we ought or ought not to do. Bioethics is one branch of ethics. Since the 1970s the term has been used to refer to the study of ethical issues arising from the biological and medical sciences.

It is sometimes said that science moves so quickly that ethics has difficulty in keeping up. Just because something is technically possible does not mean that should be done. It is crucial that ethical, legal and social issues raised by the introduction of a new technology are considered from an early stage. By bringing together ethical analysis and scientific understanding, society can evaluate policies and regulate developments.

YR Gaitonde Center for AIDS Research and Education (YRGCARE), a leader in HIV research, both social and biomedical, had organized The YRGCARE Bioethics Symposium (TYBS) at Chennai on January 8, 2010. The objectives of the symposium were to provide knowledge on the current ethical trends and issues in research involving human participants. The outcome was to address key ethical issues and gaps in knowledge, and enable the participants to apply theory to practice in research involving human participants. Topics covered in the symposium included ethical issues in clinical trials in India, including pharmacy sponsored clinical trials, taking bioethics education to practice, fair compensation for participation and trial related injury, ethical aspects of research involving community in developing countries including post-trial access, and the legal aspects of the informed consent process. The symposium was attended by over 100 participants including university research scholars and professors, NGO personnel, health care personnel, representatives of Government institutions, members from Institutional Review Boards and media.

Dr Suniti Solomon, Director, YRG CARE, welcomed the gathering. She spoke about the importance of bioethics in protecting the rights and welfare of human research participants, and bioethics has now developed in India.

In his Keynote Address, Dr S P Thyagarajan, Director & Chief Advisor (Research), Sri Ramachandra University, Chennai, spoke about the emerging clinical research scenario in India, and the importance of capacity building in bioethics.

Dr Kenneth H Mayer, Professor of Medicine and Community Health, Brown University, US, highlighted the challenges faced in the ethical conduct of HIV/AIDS research.

Dr V Kumaraswami, Director-in-Charge, TRC, Chennai, elaborated on the ethical dilemmas in randomized clinical trials.

Viveka Roychowdhury, Editorial Head, Healthcare Vertical, Business Publications Division, Indian Express Group spoke from the perspective of the citizens' viewpoint and the role of the industry versus media and their responsibilities in ethical conduct of clinical trials.

Dr Vasantha Muthuswamy, Head (Retd.), Division of Basic Medical Sciences, Traditional Medicine and Bio-Medical Ethics, ICMR, felt the need to fill in the gap between bioethics education and practice, and discussed the difficulties in ethical review in India.

Dr Teresa Celada, Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Research Ethicist, Wheaton College, Norton, MA, US, explained the ethical issues in current policies, practices, and controversies in determining fair compensation for trial participants. In a second presentation she spoke about the informed consent process, and the challenges to informed consent in international research.

The role of the community in research and stakeholders in the community was elaborated by Dr Amar Jesani, Indian Journal of Medical Ethics.

Dr Gagandeep Kang, Professor, Department of Gastrointestinal Sciences, CMC Vellore, discussed various issues related to what happens to the community when research is over. In a panel discussion, the speakers discussed various ethical issues in research, including storing of specimens for future research, maintaining confidentiality and the role of the researchers in protecting the volunteers/patients involved in clinical research. In his Closing Remarks, A K Ganesh, Project Manager, YRG CARE, and Organizing Co-Chair TYBS, commented on how learning and practice of bioethics becomes more important as science becomes increasingly enveloped by personal and commercial ambitions. Dr S Swarnalakshmi, IRB Manager, YRG CARE, and Convener of TYBS, offered the vote of thanks.