1. Conflict of Interest = A Danger to society?

2. Content Gelsinger Case
Code of Conduct and the non-existing fight vs. greed
Government Officials and the industry

3. Cutting edge medical treatments - Blessing or curse?
Research in general is vital to our society
Medical research can save lives
Medical research can destroy lives

4. Gene Therapy & Gelsinger
Jesse Gelsinger (18) had a rare metabolic disease
Joined drug trial University of Pennsylvania, hoping to overcome disease
Gelsinger died four years later, as result from the treatment
Investigation shows:
He was not a suitable test subject
Dangerous side effects were not disclosed
The University, as well as the head researcher had financial stakes in the trial

5. Code of Conduct vs. Greed
Why was Gelsinger not informed about severe consequences of taking the drug, observed in previous test subjects?
Why was he even included, even though he had too high ammonia?
What made the researchers so careless?
Money or ambition?

6. Repercussions Jesse Gelsinger died Ongoing investigations
Impact on University’s reputation
Fundamental setback to Gene Therapy
Could indivual ambition really have caused this?

7. Disadvantages of unrestricted research funding
The freedom to use or recommend better products
The freedom to collaborate with companies that are more beneficial to her research
Morality – One’s perspective changes when offered a big stack of money

8. National Institute of Health (US)
NIH scientists also working for private companies
“Well paid work”
Ban on many kinds of financial transactions between NIH scientists and the medical industry in 2005
Followed by complaints by scientists and loosening of the rules
Is that a morally acceptable reaction?
Is there a difference between “well paid work” and a “bribe”?

9. Development in Universities
Especially universities in America and the west established guidelines to cope with relationships between researchers and the industry
Those guidelines were built on bad experience, i.e. they learned from their mistakes and aim to prevent them in the future
Not so much in Taiwan

10. 衛生局(台灣) Pushing universities to cooperate with the industry
Wish for a more prosper country
Short-sighted
Too many bonds between government & Universities and the industry already
Probably won’t change before a major incident occurs

11. Who is to blame?
The opportunity to obtain big chunks of money makes humans greedy
To blame are most of us humans for not having moved on to post-materialism
We cannot enforce it to happen so we have to fix it in other ways
Relativity of morality and ethics makes it hard to setup generally accepted rules and laws

12. How far does it go? Moore v. Regents of the University of California
Mr. Moore’s leukemia was treated by university
Mr. Moore’s cells –without his knowledge- were used for research that eventually was developed into a commercialized cancer treatment
Mr. Moore “had no right to any share of the profits realized from the commercialization of anything developed from his discarded body parts”

13. Vicious Cycle
In addition to the human greed and selfishness, the main reason is lack of regulations to cope with Conflicts of Interest
Lack of regulation is often caused by “close collaborations” between the ones in charge and the industry (often in the indirect form of lobbyists)
Which means that the reason for lack of regulations is a Conflict of Interest
A vicious cycle.