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KMID : 1011120160090030001
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Bioethics Policy Studies
2016 Volume.9 No. 3 p.1 ~ p.43
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A Critical Review of the Financial Conflict of Interest (FCOI) behind the Humidifier Disinfectant Scandal : Comparing the Cases of a U.S. University and Korean Universities
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Kong Hye-Jung
Shin Yeon-Sun
Kim Ock-Joo
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Abstract
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This study seeks to propose some possible measures and regulations to both manage and review Financial Conflict of Interest (FCOI) in biomedical research by examining the humidifier disinfectant scandal in South Korea. This study begins by pointing out the fact that the toxicity tests for the disputed humidifier disinfectant products could have been compromised, falsified, or biased, since the tests conducted at Seoul National University (SNU) and Hoseo University (HU) were financially sponsored by Oxy Reckitt Benckiser Ltd (Oxy). Over ten years have passed since Hwang Woo-Suk’s unethical misconduct raised the issue of FCOI associated with the financial benefits of stem cell research. However, neither governmental nor institutional policies to monitor and regulate FCOI have been established, and few researchers have addressed or recognized the immediate need of such FCOI policies. From this perspective, this study gives an overview of the Oxy-sponsored toxicity tests conducted at SNU and HU in the context of FCOI and examines the FCOI policies and guidelines in Korean and U.S. governments and universities. By suggesting a hypothesis that the same biomedical tests performed at SNU and HU are conducted in a U.S. university - MIT in this case - and by using a simulation-based inference approach, this study proposes that Korean universities should develop concrete FCOI policies and regulations in the near future.
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KEYWORD
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humidifier disinfectant scandal , biomedical ethics, research ethics, financial conflict of interest (FCOI)
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