New Publications: Disclosure at Meetings; Chimeras
One of the activities of the McLaughlin-Rotman Centre for Global Health is to understand and overcome ethical, social and cultural barriers to the implementation of global health technologies. Recently, researchers at the Centre have published two articles we thought might be of interest to you. They include: Guidance for Reconciling Patent Rights and Disclosure of Findings at Scientific Meetings, and Human-Animal Chimeras for Vaccine Development. Please see summaries and links below. 1. Guidance for Reconciling Patent Rights and Disclosure of Findings at Scientific Meetings: A desire to secure patent protection, which precludes early public disclosure of data, can lead scientists to conceal their research findings temporarily until such protection is in place. As a consequence, open collaboration and sharing of information among scientists at scientific meetings, which can foster innovation and discovery, is potentially threatened. Peter Singer, along with colleagues Nathaniel Lipkus and Jocelyn Mackie of Gilberts LLP, argue in this paper that the tension between sharing information and patenting objectives can be alleviated if certain procedures are followed in the context of scientific meetings. The authors explore four key patent-related issues scientists should consider before attending a scientific meeting and sharing their research: Timing of Disclosure; Extent of Disclosure; The Audience; and The Irrelevance of Why. Moving from the theoretical to the practical, they then offer ten strategies for protecting intellectual property while sharing information at scientific meetings. 2. Human-Animal Chimeras for Vaccine Development: An Endangered Species or Opportunity for the Developing World? Effective and appropriate animal models are badly needed for the study of infectious diseases and testing of new vaccine candidates. Human-animal chimeras, developed with a ‘humanized’ immune system, provide a potentially valuable in vivo system for these studies. However, their use has been strongly opposed by some philosophers, ethicists and policy makers in the developed world, who express discomfort regarding the transgression of species boundaries. Anant Bhan, Peter Singer and Abdallah Daar argue in this paper that because human-animal chimeras are often created for diseases which cause significantly higher morbidity and mortality in the developing world, as compared to the developed world, the socio-cultural perspectives of these models in the developing world should also be taken into consideration. They contest that human-animal chimeras have long been a part of mythology and cultural descriptions in many countries in the developing world. Moreover, countries like China and India have shown rapid recent growth in the field of chimera research. Therefore, to make certain that important research on particularly devastating diseases continues to advance, the authors encourage the endorsement of human-animal chimera research for vaccine development in the developing world.                                                     The McLaughlin-Rotman Centre for Global Health is based at University Health Network and University of Toronto. We develop and evaluate new models of global health innovation and, working with partners, facilitate their adoption where they are most urgently needed. The McLaughlin-Rotman Centre for Global Health hosts Grand Challenges Canada. For further information, please visit our website at www.mrcglobal.org, our Facebook page at Global Health Engage and follow us on Twitter @mrcglobal.