Ethical Guidance for Selecting Clinical Trials to Receive Limited Space in an Immunotherapy Production Facility

Am J Bioeth. 2018 Apr;18(4):58-67. doi: 10.1080/15265161.2018.1444817.

Abstract

Our aims are to (1) set forth a multiprinciple system for selecting among clinical trials competing for limited space in an immunotherapy production facility that supplies products under investigation by scientific investigators; (2) defend this system by appealing to justice principles; and (3) illustrate our proposal by showing how it might be implemented. Our overarching aim is to assist manufacturers of immunotherapeutic products and other potentially breakthrough experimental therapies with the ethical task of prioritizing requests from scientific investigators when production capacity is limited.

Keywords: human subjects research; pharmaceutical industry; rationing/resource allocation; research ethics.

MeSH terms

  • Clinical Trials as Topic
  • Drug Industry / ethics*
  • Health Care Rationing / ethics*
  • Health Facilities / ethics*
  • Health Priorities*
  • Human Experimentation
  • Humans
  • Immunotherapy*
  • Neoplasms / immunology
  • Neoplasms / therapy*
  • Research Personnel
  • Social Justice*