...Drug Testing Tests done on drugs are usually sponsored by drug companies, and researchers, therefore, are reluctant to submit their studies unless the results are positive or significant. They also believe that journals would be reluctant to publish their results otherwise. Now, however, editors of the US journals are considering a plan to force the drug companies to disclose tests that shed unfavorable lights on their products. They are considering a proposal that would require drug firms to register drug tests at the outset as a prerequisite to have their results published. Discuss the implications of the above proposal. The transparency of research data from clinical trials although not necessarily the panacea, could be a step towards mitigating unnecessary deaths and suffering of patients, waste of resources in terms of redundant research, and waste of taxpayers’ money. As an example, the drug maker Merck concealed that its drug against pain, marketed as Vioxx, had a fatal side effect that causes heart attacks. The use of Vioxx has caused an estimated 100,000 incidents of heart attacks and 10,000 deaths to patients administered with the drug. The Vioxx incident is not the only example of the costs of a blanket policy of secrecy. It is evident that a policy of disclosure would not only prevent widespread public health disaster, but could also serve far-reaching consequences. It is plausible that public access to research data could potentially yield much valuable new...
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...Pfizer failed to keep its commitment to corporate social responsibility as one of the most successful pharmaceutical companies, the choice they made to choose to bear unethical behavior in 1996. “Given the risks and costs of developing a new drug, pharmaceutical companies will jump at oppor- tunities to reduce them, and Pfizer thought it saw one” (Hill, pg 139, 2011). The case in point is the event that Pfizer gave its novel antibiotic “Trovan” to allegedly sick children without the consent of the parents when there was a serious outbreak of meningitis in Kano Nigeria. Pfizer’s choose the risk route and chose to ignore the children’s personal safety in testing. For personal gain and envious reason, this is was a violation of commercial ethics. It is claimed that Pfizer outbreak in Nigeria in urgent need of medical treatment cases on others' insecurity, regardless of the consequences to test new drugs, the loss of basic medical ethics, the law violations the United Nations the relevant provisions of the Convention on Human Rights (Xia, 2006). Therefore, the essay discusses the unethical behavior of Pfizer’s drug testing in Nigeria. Pfizer should not undergo drug testing of Trovan in Nigeria because: 1) the motives and ethics of the...
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...Ethics Issue: Back in 1933 there was a cosmetic product that was in the market called Lash Lure. This product was a mascara product that many women were using on their eyelashes to make the look longer and bolder. Lash Lure had contained p-phenylenediamine, which was an untested chemical that proved to be harmful to the customers using it. The p-phenylenediamine caused horrible blisters, abscesses, and ulcers on the face, eyelids, and eyes of the consumers who used Lash Lure, and it led to blindness for some. In one instance, the ulcers were so severe that a woman developed a bacterial infection and died. This incident and others like it led the United States Congress to pass the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic (FD&C) Act of 1938. This law gave the FDA regulatory authority over cosmetic products, and companies began to test products and ingredients on animals in an effort to assure safety for consumers. The FDA “urges cosmetic manufacturers to conduct whatever tests are appropriate to establish that their cosmetics are safe”, but “does not specifically mandate animal testing for cosmetic safety.” The issue that is being raised is it ethical to harm an animal for the sake of marketing a new cosmetic product. Facts: Every year, an estimated 70 million animals are maimed or killed for cosmetic testing in the US alone, and nearly $12 billion taxpayer dollars are spent yearly on the practice. Labs that use mice, rats, birds, reptiles and amphibians are exempted from the minimal protections...
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...Running head: EMPLOYEE TESTING LAWS EMPLOYEE TESTING LAWS & PUBLICLY TRADED COMPANIES: ARE THEY ENSURING TRANSPARENT ACCOUNTABILITY OF AN EXECUTIVE LEADER’S MENTAL & BEHAVIORAL COMPETENCY? EMPLOYEE TESTING LAWS 2 Abstract This paper serves two roles. Firstly, the work attempts to synthesize the efforts of fellow classmates as presented in our mutual discovery and examination of Equal Employment Opportunity law during a traditional graduate level “long semester”. This synthesis piece will primarily consider the focus areas that surround employee testing (drug testing, as well as pen and paper evaluations). Secondly, this paper presents application dilemmas for the practitioner with regard to the language of the current legislation. The paper argues that the current collection of employee testing legislation, while offering necessary civil protections, would benefit from targeted amendments. These amendments would include language that would exempt specific employees of certain protections that are currently offered to all employees under existing EEO law. The paper argues that existing laws do not ensure the sound mental capacity and well being of leaders charged with protecting the collective interests of many stakeholders. These “specific employees” would primarily include executive leadership roles within publicly traded companies or those employees that currently fall under any “SOX/Dodd-Frank” compliance regulations. The “certain protections” that this...
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...Current Ethical Issues in Animal Research Research involving animals consistently improves medical progress for more than two centuries. However, for most of that time, it has met with moral objections because of the suffering it can cause the animals. Though animal welfare laws have reduced the number of laboratory animals globally, ethical concerns remain.The word ‘ethics’ is used in many contexts, for the purposes of this essay, “It is an examination of the acceptability of the motives that drive the behaviour of people. ”(Dolan, 1999). Ethical issues in animal research have been discussed frequently in public these few years. Accurate global figures for animal testing are difficult to obtain. According to the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) (2012), 100 million vertebrates are experimented on around the world every year, 10–11 million of them in the European Union. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates that the total number of animals used in that country in 2012 was almost 950,000, but this figure does not include rats and mice, which make up about 90% of research animals. Reports show that at least 20% of these animals do not receive painkillers and are used in painful experiments. Animal rights advocates are pressing government agencies to impose heavy restrictions on animal research. However, there is a growing concern over the threat restrictions on the use of animals would pose to scientific progress. Whether such experiments...
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...Drug Testing in Nigeria Case Pfizer should not undergo drug testing of Trovan in Nigeria because: 1) the motives and ethics of the testing are questionable and 2) neither Nigeria, Kano Hospital nor Pfizer are prepared for the implementation of tests. If the testing of Trovan is done hastily and sloppily, a public relations disaster and lawsuits could ensue, and Pfizer could lose a potentially lucrative pharmaceutical. Pfizer deals in the business of lives, and when your business is centered on the most precious commodity in existence, there must be strict, unerring focus on morality and ethics. Claims that Pfizer is testing Trovan for the benefit of world health and to aid the suffering children in Nigeria are false; Pfizer’s motivation is money. During Trovan’s development, constant references are made to raising company share prices, saving money by testing in Nigeria, and the possibility that millions of dollars are being lost each day. To top it off, Pfizer is racing against an expiring patent that threatens to undercut its pharmaceutical prices by 90%. One pharmaceutical executive stated, “The quicker we can complete clinical trials, the more money for our companies.” Nowhere is it mentioned than Pfizer has a humanitarian agenda, or that it even cares for suffering victims. I am not chastising Pfizer’s motivation in pharmaceutical production; I am only recognizing the company’s chief priority. Trovan has potential to become a hugely profitable antibiotic, and those...
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...Throughout this writing process I used different argument tactics such as ethos, pathos, and logos to display my side of the argument. I argued why welfare drug testing is not beneficial of our countries time and money. I discussed the reasons for why welfare drug testing shouldn't be allowed anymore. The reasons are its a tremendous cost and its being wasted with tax payers money, it is unconstitutional, and children should not have to be involved with their parents' addictions. I arranged my essay with different argument tactics to display my argument. I used many different examples to display my stance on the issue such as, its unethical, and its a waste of tax payers dollars. However I came up with solutions to solve this problem. One...
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...PharmaCare Legal and Ethical Considerations LEG 500 Law, Ethics, and Corporate Governance December 7, 2014 PharmaCare Legal and Ethical Considerations Once again PharmaCare is under suspicion for their question acts and deeds. The businesses AD23 drug has allegedly linked to deaths and now everything will need to be reviewed to determine validity. Ethical issues relating to marketing and advertising, intellectual property, and regulation of product safety and examining whether PharmaCare violated any of the issues in question will be explored. Direct-to-consumer marketing (DTC), by drug companies is a strategy that will be argued either for or against in this paper. There are entities responsible for regulating compounding pharmacies under the current regulatory scheme. The actions that either of these entities or the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) could/should have taken will be explored along with whether PharmaCare could face any legal exposure surrounding its practices. The manner in which PharmaCare used the U.S law to protect its own intellectual property will be discussed, and if John the former employee has any claim as the true “inventor” of AD23. One real-world example of intellectual property theft will be examined and the effect to that company’s brand will be discussed. The issue surrounding John’s wife’s death and the other potential litigants against PharmaCare will be analyzed further as the result of AD23. Finally, both major arguments that John can...
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...The Ethics of Drug Testing The ethics of drug testing has become an increased concern for many companies in the recent years. More companies are beginning to use it and more people are starting more to have problems with it. The tests are now more than ever seen as a way to stop the problems of drug abuse in the workplace. This brings up a very large question. Is drug testing an ethical way to decide employee drug use? It is also very hard to decide if the test is an invasion of employee privacy. “The ethical status of workplace drug testing can be expressed as a question of competing interests, between the employer’s right to use testing to reduce drug related harms and maximize profits, over against the employee’s right to privacy, particularly with regard to drug use which occurs outside the workplace.” (Cranford 2) The rights of the employee have to be considered. The Supreme Court case, Griswold vs. Connecticut outlines the idea that every person is entitled to a privacy zone. However this definition covers privacy and protection from government. To work productively especially when the work may be physical it is nearly impossible to keep one’s privacy. The relationship between employer and employee is based on a contract. The employee provides work for the employer and in return he is paid. If the employee cannot provide services because of problems such as drug abuse, then he is violating the contract. Employers have the right to know many things about their employees...
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...are killed each year from testing in laboratories. This number does not include those who are have developed disabilities....
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...Issue 1 - Ethics and Legal Environment - 30 points (1,000-word limit) Tracey is a widow with two middle-school-aged children. For the past several years she has worked very successfully as a mid-level manager for a large, transnational pharmaceutical corporation, making a salary of approximately $90,000 per annum. She is proud of her work and proud to be affiliated with such a prestigious employer. Her company has recently completed phase II of its animal testing on a promising new cancer drug. The successful development and commercialization of this drug is a key component in the company’s strategic growth plan. Before the company can move from the animal testing stage to human trials the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must review and approve the animal testing results and give the okay for the human trials. Without human trials the drug has no chance of making it to market. This morning, Tracey’s boss called her to a private meeting in his office. After reiterating how important the success of the cancer drug trials is to the future of the company, he directed her to change some figures related to the percentage of animals that died as a result of receiving injections of the cancer drug during the phase II trials. Specifically, he told Tracey that her report to the FDA will have to show a percentage of animal deaths that is 10% lower than the actual rate of deaths the raw data in the test results indicate. Based on the above, respond to each of the following: ...
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...Ethical issues regarding the use of Performance Enhancing Drugs in Sports In the history of 20th century sports, specifically in the post World War 2 era, there has been an ever increasing use of performance enhancing drugs in all avenues of sport. Sports have become money making machine for both athletes and big business and the “win at all costs” attitude which has permeated itself into all aspects of professional and college level athletics. Winners make money, losers don’t. The temptation of fame, notoriety and million dollar contracts in all venues of sport is a lure for many athletes. Elite professional athletes are worshiped in today’s society. This paper will elaborate on the use of performance enhancing drugs in the sporting world and the associated sports ethical issues. It is a majority belief in all sporting circles that the “true” spirit of sportsmanship does not allow any aspect of performance enhancing drugs. There are several arguments both in favor and against the use of performance enhancing drugs which will be presented and discussed in this paper. While addressing this ethical issue, we need to define the term ethics. Ethics can be defined as the socially accepted norms and values. These norms and values are varied from society to society and are based on culture and tradition. Ethics also could be defined as the unsaid, un-written and understood laws that prevail in a society. Ethics also cover what is right and what is wrong in society and teaches...
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...Have you ever used a Band-Aid? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you have consumed a product that has been tested on animals. Animal testing is a phrase that many people may come into contact with, but are unsure of what it really means. Some individuals have very misguided notions of what they believe it is. They think it deals with torturing helpless animals. What is animal testing? It is the use of non-human animals in experiments and lab settings. Now that you know that those brands use animal testing and have a better understanding of what animal testing is, do you vow to stop using those products because you are strongly against animal experimentation? If you answered yes, then you’re also going to have to stop using Clearasil, Crest, Febreeze, Neutrogena, Tide, and a ton of other merchandises. In the interest of preserving human health and progress, government should continue to allow strictly monitored and regulated animal testing because it is the best alternative to human testing, is essential for safety reasons, and is beneficial to advancing biological and medical knowledge Don’t be fooled when products claim to be “cruelty free” or “not tested on animals”, because although this claim may refer to the final product, many of the ingredients have in fact been tested on animals. Animal testing has been and will probably continue to be a very controversial issue where both sides are passionate in what they believe in. Let’s face it, animal...
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...Employment-At-Will Doctrine Strayer University Professor LEG 500 Law, Ethics, and Corporate Governance The Employment-At-Will doctrine continues to be favored by employers and employees in various forms thru out numerous types of companies. The doctrine gives employers and employees the right to terminate terms of their employment “for a good reason, a bad reason, or no reason at all” (Halbert Ingulli, 2012, page 46). There are some restrictions to the at- will doctrine in which an employer may not terminate an employee’s employment. Some of the following restrictions are “employer from terminating employees in violation of well-established public policy of the state”, “filing a workers' compensation claim after an on-the-job injury” and/or “refusal to violate the law at the employer's request” in the article Employment-At-Will Doctrine. The following violations can best be classified under three main exceptions to the At-Will place of employment. They are Public Policy, Discrimination or retaliation, and Implied Contract. We will discuss the three examples of scenarios and one real world situations and see if they fall into one of the three exceptions to At-Will employment. The first example is scenario three, Bill using his company-issued BlackBerry to run his own business on the side. Let’s assume that when Bill was given the blackberry, he signed a company property agreement form stating usage and restrictions. In the company property agreement form, it never...
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...Utilitarianism is the principle that the correct form of action be taken to benefit the greatest number of people. Deontology is defined as the area of ethics involving the responsibility, moral duty and commitment. Both utilitarianism and deontology deal with the ethics and consequences of one’s actions and behavior despite the outcome. To contrast utilitarianism and deontology, utilitarianism summarized is making the right decision followed by the right actions that has the best outcome for the largest number of individuals. Deontology is the understanding and practice that there is a respect for life, fairness, and honesty despite the consequences and no matter the affect on the minority or majority of people affected. Explain whether you agree or disagree that there should be a difference between the treatment of prospective as opposed to current employees where drug testing is concerned. I agree that there should be a difference between the treatment of prospective as opposed to current employees where drug testing is concerned. I do that if an individual whether they are a prospective or current employee and are abusing drugs than they should not be employed especially if there impairment could be a hazard. However, I do feel that current employees should be offered some type of drug treatment to help them with any drug issue that they might have. I don’t feel as if this should be offered to prospective employees because they are not yet a part of that employer’s...
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