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Questionable herpes vaccine research backed by tech heavyweight Peter Thiel may have jeopardized $15 million in federal research funding to Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. That's according to documents obtained by a Freedom of Information Act request by The State Journal Register.
In August, Kaiser Health News reported that Thiel and other conservative investors had contributed $7 million for the live-but-weakened herpes virus vaccine, developed by the late SIU researcher William Halford. The investments came after Halford and his private company, Rational Vaccines, had begun conducting small clinical trials in the Caribbean nation of St. Kitts and Nevis. With the off-shore location, Rational Vaccines' trial skirted federal regulations and standard safety protocols for human trials, including having approval and oversight from an institutional review board (IRB).
Experts were quick to call the unapproved trial "patently unethical," and researchers rejected the data from publication, calling the handling of safety issues "reckless." The government of St. Kitts opened an investigation into the trial and reported that health authorities there had been kept in the dark.
(Score: 2) by TheRaven on Friday November 17 2017, @10:17AM (2 children)
Thalidomide is an interesting example, because it's also a case of unintended consequences for reactionary regulation. In the wake of the Thalidomide trials, the restrictions on women participating in clinical trials were tightened up a lot to the point that some drugs made it to market without any testing on women at all. This came to light recently in the context of sleeping pills, some of which are significantly more effective on women to the point where the recommended dose can leave women dangerously sleepy in the mornings when they try to drive to work.
Oh, and Thalidomide is still used and is quite effective, doctors just have to be very careful about who they prescribe it to.
sudo mod me up
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday November 17 2017, @02:45PM (1 child)
Those unintended consequences you mention are more a result of over reaction, than a proper reaction. IMHO, women should be included in any and all research and tests. But, women should be properly INFORMED. To lazy to go in search of thes story again, but some dude in Toronto was earning money in collge through some of these clinical tests. They gave him some stuff that caused some pretty serious side effects. The thing is, he wasn't properly informed. He didn't know to watch for the symptoms he developed. At his next scheduled appointment, he told the researchers about his symptoms, and basically, he was kicked out of the clinical test program. Blackballed. He couldn't get any more work for that group, or any similar group.
People, male or female, should have the opportunity to participate in research. But, both male and female should be fully informed. If Jenny Freshman understands that a clinical trial has a chance in thousand/million/billion of causing birth defects, then she can decide whether she wants to take that risk. A bunch of politicians shouldn't be making that decision for her. So long as Jenny is fully informed, it's her decision.
A MAN Just Won a Gold Medal for Punching a Woman in the Face
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Saturday November 18 2017, @01:05AM
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves