Victim’s father speaks out on current system
"It should be pretty obvious to everyone by now that not enough resources are being spent on the review and oversight of clinical research. This applies to all parties: government agencies, academia, and industry. What needs to be happening simply is not. Art Caplan, director of the center for bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, summed up the problem well in a letter he recently published when he stated:
"'But, the suspension of clinical research at Hopkins is a symptom of a much deeper disease — the collapse of adequate protections for those involved in research at every American medical center, clinic, testing facility, and hospital. And if a culprit is to be singled out, it is that disease, not one institution.'
"I agree with his assessment but don’t think he went far enough in his diagnosis. I would encourage everyone involved in clinical research to take a step back and look at everything with a clear eye. In my effort, this one thing is very glaring, and is the source of that disease. The money end of the medical research enterprise has become so huge that is has become increasingly difficult for anyone to remain unbiased in evaluating research findings. For those of you with a spiritual side, a better way of defining it would be literally a damned money machine, the fodder for which is human beings. Take control of that instead of letting it control government and research. The current system is not fair to anyone: not the investors of the new technologies, not to the researchers — who for the most part want to find the answers we all desire — and most certainly not to those willing to put their lives on the line."
— Paul Gelsinger, Tucson, AZ
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