Drug tests in India

I Contents

II List of figures

III List of abbreviations
1 Essential moral standards and norms
2 The practical value of economic ethics concepts
3 The RADAR concept
4 Business activity in India
5 Comparison of the cultures
6 Preperation for the NGO meeting

IV. Bibliography

Declaration

II List of figures

Figure 1: Overview of the different business ethics concepts

Figure 2: Points of the RADAR concept

Figure 3: Comparison of the differen cultural dimensions

IV List of abbreviations

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1 Essential moral standards and norms

“Humans are more moral than they think and far more immoral than they can imagine.”

Sigmund Freud^[1]

In general moral standards and norms are always based on a culture. Every culture has got its own definition of morality and ethics.

Morality can be defined as the standards that an individual or group has got about what is right and wrong, or good and evil.

The pharma industry itself includes some essential moral standards and norms on national and international base.

First it is necessary to prove moral standards and norms on a global level. The “Declaration of Helsinki” developed by the World Medical Association (WMA) is: “a statement of ethical principles for medical research involving human subjects , including research on identifiable human material and data.”^[2]

Furthermore this declaration gives essential moral standards and norms according to the pharmaceutical branch, e.g. “In medical research involving human subjects, the well-being of the individual research subject must take precedence over all other interests.”^[3]

The second part is the national moral standards. In Germany the ethical standards refer to the principle: “The health is the highest property of a human being.”^[4] These standards are set by statue from the “Zentrale Ethikkommission”.^[5]Furthermore German companies always have to obey the German law.^[6]

The American ethical standards are saying the same in the “Declaration of Professional Responsibility: Medicine's Social Contract with Humanity.” from the American Medical Association, e.g. "Respect human life and the dignity of every individual"^[7]

The focused standards above exist also in India. They are formed by the Indian Council of medical research.^[8]

All standards point out what the ultimate principle of medical researches is.: All medical tests shall focus on health and care of every human being.

“Act as if the maxim of your action were to become through your will a universal law of nature.”

Immanuel Kant by Serafini (1989)^[9]

The definition of moral standards and norms above should be based on deontological ethics. It says that the background and the consequences or effects that an action takes is irrelevant - only the action itself matters. Roughly speaking, deontologists hold that some choices cannot be justified by their effects, no matter how morally good their consequences are. Therefore some choices are morally forbidden.^[10]

But in reference to the drug tests the moral standards are based on the teleological theory. The teleology is characterized primarily by a focus on the consequences which any action might have. That means if an action (drug tests) might be incorrect, but the consequence (effective medicine) is correct and helpful, then it is morally correct.^[11]

Today we are encouraged to act on the base of different ethical frameworks before we are able to make a clear decision about the ethical correctness of our intended actions. The codes of conduct, which are the ethical guidelines are based on those frameworks.

2 The practical value of economic ethics concepts

The following discussion deals with the four different economic ethics concepts and their practical values. They are defining how to combine ethics and profit in different ways and with their consequences.

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Figure 1 The different business ethics concepts

Firstly there is the functional business ethics concept. If a company act in agreement with certain known rules and under specific ethical conditions it is allowed to gain the maximum profit. “Ethic” is a “factor or rentability” or a “critical factor of success”. That means: The “investment” in “ethics” in terms of acceptance of current opportunity costs has its foundation in the strategic aim to save long-term profit chances.^[12] This concept is not used by the BVVB AG, because they are not acting under specific ethical conditions.

The second concept to focus is the corrective Business ethics concept which implements ethical standards into the daily business. That means companies are acting in their normal economic way but ethics standards always have the priority over profit gaining actions.^[13] It is a voluntarily self-limitation of profit maximisation.^[14] For the BVVB AG only the profit gaining process matters.

The integrative Business ethic is the permanent process of critical reflexion of business activities. Every possible profit and business success should get the legitimisation of all stakeholders. The consequence is that the company might have to abdicate a profit chance.^[15] The action of the BVVB AG shows that they are not acting in reference to what the stakeholders defining as the best way.

The last concept is the charitable Business ethic concept. The priority is to gain the maximum profit and afterwards the company starts to donate a part of the money for charitable aims. The morality of a business action does not matter anyway. ^[16]

Due to the descriptions of the different concepts it is clear that the BVVB AG should act based on the charitable business ethics concept. In the current situation it is the highest priority to gain profit and to be successful (=gain the maximum profit). But after having success the BVVB AG should use a part of the gained money to serve non-economical claims. The practical value of the concept is the possibility to define an ethical business aim and the commitment to act in a moral and ethical way.

3 RADAR concept

The RADAR concept serves to take a decision with the comprehension of ethics. In consideration of ethics in the factoring process it could be more difficult to find an easy solution but it might be more suitable for both parties.

In the following paragraph the steps 1 to 10 of the RADAR concept, as seen in the following image, will be analysed and discussed.

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Figure 2: Structure and Points of the RADAR concept

R ecognize

Step 1 Determine if there is an ethical component

The component is the drug tests in India. The accomplishment of these tests is not unmorally - it is important - but the way the tests will be carried out is morally questionable. The BVVB AG could hold the tests in Europe or the USA but due to finical problems and the necessity of the reduction of costs the tests will be done in a financially weak area in an Indian hospital. Furthermore the BVVB AG does not know if the health of the patient will be always protected.

[...]

^[1] See: Freud, Sigmund (1930)

^[2] See: www.wma.net/en/30publications/10policies/b3/ (9/11/2012)

^[3] See: www.wma.net/en/30publications/10policies/b3/ (9/11/2012)

^[4] See: www.fs-arzneimittelindustrie.de/verhaltenskodex/ivd/ (14/11/2012)

^[5] See: www.zentrale-ethikkommission.de/page.asp?his=0.1.24 (14/11/2012)

^[6] Cf.:www.ak-med-ethik-komm.de/documents/StellungnahmeEUVerordnungklinischePruefungen.pdf (15/11/2012)

^[7] See: www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/physician-resources/medical-ethics/declaration-professional-responsibility.page? (14/11/2012)

^[8] Cf.: icmr.nic.in/ethical_guidelines.pdf (9/11/2012)

^[9] See: Kant, Immanuel by Serafini (1989): 29

^[10] Cf.: Lipper Rasmussen, Kaspar (2005): 15

^[11] Cf.: Salzmann, Todd A. (1995): 135

^[12] Cf.: Ulrich, Peter (1997):.418

^[13] Cf.: Ulrich, Peter (2008): 80

^[14] Cf.: Ulrich, Peter (1997): 424

^[15] Cf.: Ulrich, Peter (1997): 428 - 429

^[16] Cf.: Ulrich, Peter (1997): .422