Hi colleagues -
Last Thursday evening the BA organised the first open meeting as part of the
GM science review, one of three strands of national dialogue on GM. (A
report of this meeting will be available at www.the-ba.net/scicomm
<www.the-ba.net/scicomm> and www.gmsciencedebate.org.uk
<www.gmsciencedebate.org.uk> in the next two weeks)
This meeting is part of the BA's programme of events, prior to our move to
the Dana centre, that feed directly into consultation processes and
documents.
In September the BA organised a forum on the Draft Mental Health Bill and
produced a report on the discussion which was sent to the Department of
Health. Our SPA forum in February, on pharmacogenetics (see below for
details), will feed into the Nuffield Council on Bioethics' consultation in
this area.
Are other organisations moving towards running events that have outcomes
that feed into specific consultation processes and would you be interested
to share your experiences?
The BA is seeking to link its events with groups undertaking public
consultations and would also be interested to hear from such groups.
ta, Fiona
Science and Public Affairs Forum
'Testing times for medicine: genetics and the search for safer drugs'
Date Thursday 6 February 2003
Time 18.30 (doors open at 18:00)
Venue The Royal College of Physicians, 11 St Andrews
Place, Regent's Park, London NW1 4LE
Nearest tube Great Portland St, Regent's Park
Organiser the BA
Info [log in to unmask] / 020 7973 3052
Tests will soon be available to show how certain drugs are affected by your
genes. The benefits from these tests include helping prevent patients
suffering adverse reactions to the drugs and enabling the development of
more personalised medicines. But the NHS and regulatory authorities will
face a number of difficult decisions before making the tests and drugs
available, decisions which may even impact on the traditional doctor-patient
relationship. Who will decide whether the tests and medicines are made
available? Will they be available to all, or just to those who can afford
them? Should patients automatically have the right to receive - or even
refuse - a test?
Join our panel of speakers, including Sir Michael Rawlins from the National
Institute for Clinical Excellence, Professor Robert Kerwin of the Institute
of Psychiatry, Dr Paul Martin from the University of Nottingham and Chris
Friend from the Genetic Interest Group to discuss the implications of
pharmacogenetic testing.
This event is organised by the BA and sponsored by the Medical Research
Council.
Fiona Barbagallo
Science Communication Manager
the BA (British Association for the Advancement of Science)
23 Savile Row
London W1S 2EZ
p: (0)20 7973 3079
f: (0)20 7973 3063
e: [log in to unmask]
w: www.the-ba.net <www.the-ba.net>
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