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ON ETHICS AND CLINICAL RESEARCH Dr. Guillermo Caletti, Ph.D Chief of Clinical Operations at Boehringer Ingelheim for Mexico and Central America.
THE EXPERT’S OPINION
The development of technology and new medical treatments undoubtedly involves all members of the community, not only medical researchers, doctors and nurses, and other hospital staff, but also society in general. The unquestioned need of human beings to overcome physical pain or mental suffering and to prolong life drives a continual search for treatments that can help us bear both the physical ailments themselves and the anguish and uncertainty that often accompany them. Sometimes a sense of desperation, caused by ignorance and lack of knowledge of our illnesses, makes us rush our decisions and even to commit injustices and abuses against others.
How can we avoid seeking to benefit a loved one or ourselves over the interests and benefits of our fellow human beings? How can we render justice in society where medical treatment is coveted and expected by millions and yet available only to a few? How can we develop new therapeutic options without hurting those less fortunate than us along the way? The development of new treatment options, especially drugs, designed to address doctors’ questions that remain unanswered, requires the investment of millions of dollars over very long periods of time (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Source:https://portal.unidoscontraelparkinson.com/medicamentos-parkinson/1639-parkinson-farmacosnuevos.html
