Medical experts urge caution in research trials

Experts at the fifth annual Seha conference discuss the ethics of clinical trials, warning that regulation may be needed.

ABU DHABI // Experts have urged legislators to ensure the UAE’s medical research trials benefit society rather than just drugs companies.

The nation is seeking to become a regional centre for medical research, but health officials also regard the trials as an important part of developing its healthcare system.

Speakers at the Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (Seha) Research Conference said authorities needed to be aware of conflicts of interest that could arise from collaboration between researchers and the pharmaceutical industry.

Dr Aly Mishal, committee chairman on bioethics at the Federation of Islamic Medical Associations in Jordan, said: “The main problem is the flaw of clinical trials related to drugs that are being developed and marketed by drug companies.”

Dr Mishal claimed drug companies sometimes handpicked researchers and manipulated trial conditions to produce results that may not directly benefit patients.

But Dr Goutam Pujari, vice president of Clinical Trials Operations at Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, a company based in Mumbai, said companies were becoming more transparent and “there are quality structures in place”.

“We see it as a collaboration between investigators and pharma,” Dr Pujari said.

The point was raised that sometimes the research subjects are given medicine for the trials, but then cannot afford the high costs of the treatment when it has finished.

“What is the use of this research if we cannot give patients these drugs?” asked one delegate.

Dr Pujari said many countries were starting to set rules to address the issue, something Dr Mishal suggested Emirati health officials should enact as soon as possible.

“They should form committees of thinkers and brainstorm things” to regulate clinical trials, he said.

Seha has already formed an ethics committee to commission research.

In some countries, most medical research is industry-funded. One example is the US where the Sunshine Act, passed as part of healthcare reforms in 2010, requires disclosure of industry payments to doctors and researchers, although it does not ban them.

Dr Mishal said he noticed a change in research collaboration with private companies about 15 years ago, with less transparency and more instances of research findings being manipulated.

“This works against the best interests of society,” he said. “Drug companies should not control the way researchers behave.”

The conference, which this year had the theme Clinical Trials and Disease Registries, ended on Monday.

About 900 people attended over the two days, including healthcare providers, doctors and researchers. The event also included workshops into research methods, clinical trials and study designs.

The conference included a research competition for which more than 200 papers were entered.

Winning research topics included smoking prevalance among healthcare providers, high blood pressure and neonatal hypothermia.

Mafraq Hospital in Abu Dhabi won the award for Outstanding Contribution to Medical Research in the UAE, for submitting 63 entries in the competition, the highest number from one entrant.