Seven risks emerging from life patents and corporate science

This article examines some of the controversial issues emerging from the privatization of biomedical research and commercialization of biotechnology. The aim is to identify the dominant social, political, and ethical risks associated with the recent shift from academic to corporate science and from the increasing emphasis on investing in research projects that will result in the award of a monopoly patent. Identifying these risks may ultimately assist policy makers in designing new policies or reforming existing practices that will come closer to achieving an equitable balance between science pursued for the advance of knowledge and science pursued for patents and profit. The discussion may also assist the research directors or managers of biopharmaceutical companies in designing corporate policies that will optimize the balance between the serendipity of scientific discovery and the discipline of strategic business planning

Genetic expectations

This paper offers a critical review of the revolution in molecular genetics. It covers some of the past achievements, curent applications and anticipated future directions. The focus is on genetic expectations, including the expectations of research scientists, physicians, policy-makers, patients living with a genetic disorder, and members of the public. The emphasis is on what researchers have already achieved, and what they expect to achieve from their continuing efforts to understand the structure and function of the most fundamental molecule of lif

Eugenics past, present and future

Understanding the human – a form of moral and religious introspection and historical responsibility and a quest for scientific knowledge and adaptability to technological progress ‘Crafting humans’ – and its corollary human enhancement – is a contested topic, both in medical sciences and the humanities. With continuing advances in science and technology, scientists and the general public alike are aware that the basic foundations of the human condition are now at stake. This volume contributes to this growing body of work. It offers insights into some of the reflections and imaginaries that have inspired and legitimated both theoretical and practical programmes for ‘crafting’ humans, ranging from the religious/spiritualist and the philosophical/cultural to the secular and the scientific/scientistic; from the religious and mystical quest for human perfection to the biopolitical eugenic state of the twentieth century, and current theories of human enhancement. This volume discusses these topics in a synchronized way, as interrelated variants of the most central story in history, that of human perfectibilit

Governing the risks emerging from the non-medical uses of genetic testing

This paper investigates the risks and benefits associated with the use of genetic testing by agents outside the boundaries of the medical sphere and for reasons other than providing health care. Section one considers the actual and potential use of genetic testing by employers, insurance companies, educators, immigration officials and law enforcement agencies. Section two identifies the common risks that arise from all these uses of genetic testing including the risk to genetic privacy and confidentiality, the risk of genetic discrimination, the risk of creating a social polarisation between the genetically advantaged and genetically disadvantaged and the risk of creating a genetic surveillance society. This discussion on the common risks associated with genetic testing is imbricated with a number of policy recommendations that may assist in maximising the benefits and minimising the risks associated with the non-medical applications of genetic testing. In developing these recommendations, the aim is not to prohibit genetic testing and forego the many benefits testing offers individuals and society, but rather, to alleviate some of the fears and misunderstandings of gene technology and to create an environment in which genetic testing can be used to promote the interests of both individuals and societ

Maximising the benefits and minimizing the risks associated with pre-natal genetic testing

With over 500 prenatal genetic tests currently available, and many more entering the consumer medical market each year, prenatal genetic testing is rapidly becoming routine practice in the medical management of pregnancy. The greatest benefits gained from prenatal genetic testing are the prevention of the birth of a child with a chronic genetic disease and offering prospective parents a degree of liberation from reproductive risk. These benefits are, however, tempered by a series of complex ethical, legal and social risks, which must be identified and managed if the benefits are to be maximized. The aim of this paper is to investigate how a group of experts in human genetics perceive the origin and impact of these risks. Based on a qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews with experts in the new genetics, seven risks are identified. These include: the risk of state intervention into private lives and the consequent loss in reproductive freedom; the risk of coercive testing emerging from medical paternalism; the risk of ambivalence in knowing whether prenatal testing should be offered for all conditions, or only for severe medical conditions; the risk prenatal testing will amplify existing racial, sexual and disability discrimination; the risk prospective parents will develop inflated expectations of genetic perfectionism; the risk of inequalities in access to genetics counselling and testing services; and the risk of fostering an increase in wrongful birth and wrongful life litigation. The findings of this study have implications for enhancing genetic risk-management policies and for improving the delivery of genetic testing services. They also have implications for advancing our understanding of the relationship between genetic health, genetic risk and society

Seven risks emerging from life patents and corporate science

This article examines some of the controversial issues emerging from the privatization of biomedical research and commercialization of biotechnology. The aim is to identify the dominant social, political, and ethical risks associated with the recent shift from academic to corporate science and from the increasing emphasis on investing in research projects that will result in the award of a monopoly patent. Identifying these risks may ultimately assist policy makers in designing new policies or reforming existing practices that will come closer to achieving an equitable balance between science pursued for the advance of knowledge and science pursued for patents and profit. The discussion may also assist the research directors or managers of biopharmaceutical companies in designing corporate policies that will optimize the balance between the serendipity of scientific discovery and the discipline of strategic business planning