The UK’s three leading bioscience research
funding agencies have recently (8 September 2005), published a
joint policy statement on reducing the risk of the research they fund
being
misused
for harmful purposes by terrorists or others.
The Medical Research Council (MRC), the Wellcome Trust and the
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), issued
the statement
in light of public concerns that bioscience research could be misused
in the development of bioweapons.
Their statement builds on existing
policies and processes that the MRC, Wellcome Trust and BBSRC already
have in place
to ensure
that
the research they support meets the highest ethical and scientific standards.
Working in unison, the MRC, Wellcome Trust and BBSRC conducted a consultation
exercise with members of the funding and advisory committees across
the three organisations. This examined how existing procedures might
be strengthened to heighten awareness amongst the scientific community
and identify and assess risks of misuse at the initial grant application
stage.
The consultation has led to a series of common changes to each organisation’s
policy statements, guidance and procedures. These will include changes
to funding application forms, the development of clear guidance for funding
committees and modifications of organisational guidelines on good practice
in research.
Colin Blakemore, Chief Executive of the Medical Research Council said:
“ The
medical research community recognises that there are concerns about possible
harmful uses of civil research. These additional safeguards in our assessment
processes will draw such issues more clearly to the attention of applicants
for MRC funding and encourage them to address any areas for potential
misuse of their research at the earliest possible stage. Of course, such
measures on their own will not prevent the efforts of a determined terrorist,
but this is a positive step by the research community to raise awareness
and reduce the risks.”
Dr Mark Walport, Director of the Wellcome Trust said:
“ We understand
that many people are alarmed by the threat of bioterrorism. But we need
to balance these fears with sensible and practical measures that will
help us manage such risks while ensuring that the benefits of research
are realised. We hope the policies we have adopted both reassure the
public and encourage the scientific community to remain vigilant to the
risks of misuse. There are many deadly infectious agents and it is vital
for public health that the scientific community can pursue legitimate
research to understand and treat these diseases.”
Professor Julia Goodfellow, Chief Executive of the Biotechnology and
Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) said:
“ Advances
in fundamental bioscience research have the potential to be misused
in bioterrorism. This risk is not new, nor is it restricted to high-tech
areas of science or those directly related to human health. Adopting
this common policy with the other two major funders of bioscience research
will heighten awareness amongst the whole of the biological science
community.”
Joint BBSRC, MRC and Wellcome Trust policy statement
The BBSRC, the MRC and the Wellcome Trust have each issued position statements
on bioterrorism and biomedical research. These cover issues such as:
balancing benefit and risk; funding decisions; dissemination of research;
international collaboration and training; and promoting research best
practice and ensuring public trust. The position statements are available
on the organisations’websites.
The position statements propose that a system based upon self-governance
by the scientific community will ultimately provide the most effective
means of managing risks of misuse. They suggest that the community
should take active steps to further develop mechanisms of self-governance,
and that through doing so the community can ensure that responsibly
conducted research is not unnecessarily obstructed.
The BBSRC, the MRC and the Wellcome Trust already have rigorous processes
in place for ensuring that the research we support is of the highest
scientific quality and conforms to all relevant ethical and regulatory
requirements. In light of concerns over research misuse,we have been
working in partnership to examine how these existing procedures could
be strengthened to help ensure that risks of misuse associated with
research projects are identified and assessed at the grant application
stage, where it is possible to do so.
The MRC has consulted members of funding and advisory
committees across the three organisations, on the basis of a discussion
document. The
outcome
of this has led the BBSRC, the MRC and the Wellcome Trust have agreed
to change their policy statements, guidance and procedures in
four
areas:
- _ Introduction of a question on application
forms asking applicants to consider risks of misuse associated with
their proposal;
- _ Explicit
mention of risks of misuse in guidance to referees as an issue to
consider;
- _ Development of clear guidance for funding committees
on this issue and the process for assessing cases where concerns
have been raised;
- _ Modification of organisational guidelines on
good practice in research to include specific reference to risks
of misuse.
The misuse of research for terrorist purposes may be only one
of a number of possible ways in which the outcomes of research could
conceivably
result in harm. Therefore, these changes refer to all kinds of research
misuse. They have been introduced to heighten awareness,
and as a means of identifying possible risks of misuse at an early stage.
Ultimately
what matters most is people’s motives. The changes
to the processes of the funding bodies will not be sufficient on their
own to prevent misuse by somebody with that primary intent. Other processes
within
the research
environment are also important; these include effective research
governance at the local (institutional) level, appropriate levels of
caution in making appointments, and compliance with existing health
and safety regulations.
News is included on this website
to inform visitors about current health issues, but not to endorse
any particular view or activity. Material in this news item
was first released by the Medical Research Council (MRC), UK on
th September 2005. For further information, please visit
their
website using the link below. |
