CENTRE FOR PUBLIC HEALTH RESEARCH

2006-07 MONTHLY AFTERNOON SEMINARS

 

MONDAY, 19th FEBRUARY 1 - 2pm GASKELL BUILDING Room 051

 

Professor Udo Schuklenk PhD

Chair in Ethics in Public Policy and Corporate Governance - Co-Editor BIOETHICS and

DEVELOPING WORLD BIOETHICS, Glasgow Caledonian University

 

North-South Benefit-Sharing Arrangements in Bioprospecting and Genetic

Research: A Critical Ethical and Legal Analysis

 

Most pharmaceutical research carried out today is on the treatment and management of lifestyle diseases of the developed world. Diseases which affect mainly poor

people are neglected in research advancements in treatment, be-cause they cannot generate large financial returns on research and development (R&D) costs. Benefitsharing arrangements for the use of indigenous resources and genetic research could only marginally address this gap in R&D on diseases which affect the poor.

Benefit sharing as a strategy is conceptually problematic even if one, as we do, agrees that impoverished indigenous communities should not be exploited and that they

should be assisted in improving their living conditions. The accepted concept of intellectual property protection envisages clearly defined originators and owners of

knowledge whereas the concept of community membership is fluid and indigenous knowledge is by its very nature open, with the originator(s) lost in the mists of time.

The delineation of 'community' presents serious conceptual and practical difficulties as few communities form discrete, easily discernable groups and most have

problematic leadership structures. However, these difficulties should not be seen as a priori insurmountable barriers to negotiating fair terms for benefit-sharing

arrangements. The country of origin is responsible for a just distribution of ensuing benefits. Benefit sharing is no substitute for government's responsibility to uplift

impoverished communities. Benefit sharing arrangements may be fraught with difficulties but considerations of respect and equity demand that prior informed

consent and consultation around commercialization of knowledge take place with the source community and their government. Governments would do well to use the

existing provisions to protect indigenous knowledge in the meantime.  Sharing of human genetic material permits us to make a stronger case in favour of

compensation for those who enable such research by means of contributing their genetic material. Four case studies are examined.

 

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Ella Tighe 
Research Fellow
Centre for Public Health Research 
Mary Seacole Building, 3rd Floor
Brunel University, West London
Uxbridge UB8 3PH 
UK
Tel: +44 (0)1895 267339 

www.brunel.ac.uk/research/centres/cphr