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Ethics in Clinical Trials and Access to Medicine

According to WHO, clinical trial is any research study that prospectively assigns human participant or group of humans to one or more health related interventions to evaluate the effects on health outcomes. Biomedical research such as Clinical trials are filled with many complex ethical issues, which includes quality of health care, post-trial access to medicines for research participants as well as general population, improper compensation mechanism in any incident of trial related injury etc. Since Sama considers Health as a human right,it advocates for a rights based approach to health care for research participants.

Sama has actively been involved in research and advocacy in the fields of biomedical research and health with a clear objective to promote ethical practices. Though it is important to conduct clinical trials for the fulfilment of public health need, it is also imperative to monitor, advocate and evolve ethical guidelines for biomedical practices. Sama’s involvement with health research particularly in the context of clinical trials has also led to sustained engagement with the realm of bioethics.