Clinical Trial Ethics

The Clinical Trial services in India has been growing, as the global pharmaceutical and medical devices industries work through Contract Research Organisations to facilitate quicker and cheaper conduct of trials. The diversity in population and younger population, in addition to the large pool of qualified and competent scientists, technicians, medical and paramedical staff also makes India a great destination for clinical trials. 

​

Unfortunately, in the past few decades, clinical trials conducted in India have been criticized for violation of ethical principles, and poor regulatory control. It is important to train and empower Clinical Trial Ethics Committees to with knowledge of the law and global standards in clinical trial ethics, while encouraging the non-clinical members like lawyers, lay-persons, sociologists and persons representing patient groups to read, understand and gain clarity about the research design, protocol, compensation and rescue measures, through interaction with the principal investigator and the primary reviewer.

 

Ethics as a domain of professional excellence is an evolving field in India, and much needed at the intersection of the Law, science and technology, the practice of responsible medicine and the pharmaceutical industry.