You are on page 1of 3

tTHICAL PRIN CiPLES IN BUSINESS 143

.Ot
If-
:1i~f~~~~:~~I~~~\i~.
1~
.: .
..c~diltt/Jpnk. anil R~tJ..{/,~~ I)t;ug Trials in Chin:a
CASE~S
*-CExplore the Concept o:l
mythinkinglab.com

tat
~~1~~~1r~;;~:?i:!~~~\}~ :.~, . .:....~-;- : ,.
{'~~~nW'epJetrlber Z3, 2010, Ti:.aidos Bank, a small British position regarding genetic engineering and
''<flrianti:H 'institution with a 2009 income of$127.3 million clear ethical guidelines for clinical trials. It has
.?';;:fi4df~'~~pf~i~t:of $1,3.6'-. mill~on, publicly aiU."1ounced that systems in place to monitor and enforce social

;~-"~~'ltt~b~f~o(;;;;;~~~~~eea~~ci~~c::
standards in its supply chains, and it favors sup-
pliers with certified environmental management
;,;::._p : ' ffi\t';t~~:~pt~t~.d~'drg$~s iri: Qhjn~(do not meet Traidos systems. Also, Roche has ambitious targets to
:1- \~.... ... , ;fi5f~~~~ti~h~~; ~ :,~)<: '/~ ;; ~ i;: , :~' < ..'.; . :) '. reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas
1 .il . :~:. .~~": -~: . t-frai96{~'~nk noted on its web site that it was an emissions. 3
c . "ethi'c:H - ban~twhich offers savings accounts and invest-
Ia - ; inen.~'~-::.ap4 i~ prided itself on being "the world's leading But several months later the bank learned about
:e, ':~~. ~~g~~q~Pap4 s,ust~inable bank" Traidos declared that its Roche 's research programs in China, and after further
as ~ _,aay.!to~~;i'y'detision-making was guided by six principles: inve~tigations, the bank decided Roche no longer met its
.. -. <...,.W e\vill ethical criteria. What the Bank discovered was that in] an-
ny . ; ~ ......
uary, 2010:
::e, ..~J. .=.~:, /.~prpi~.p~e.:sus~ble develqpment-consi~ering

~\twill~~~~~?::;:::;
Je,
Roche received the Public Eye Award that is spon-
sored by the Berne Declaration and Greenpeace.
ew The award names and shames corporations with
1ts unet..lUcal social or ecological behaviour. ... Roche
. . ~ _' ;. :(~sp~t:i hmnan rights-of indi~duals, and within
)IS received the award because of its clinical trials in
.different societies and cultures; supporting the
China for the drug CellCept, which prevents the
aims of the United Nation's Universal Declara-
:r- rejection of transplanted organs. Since a large pan
. cion.of Human Rights
es of transplanted organs in China originate from
. . ~.?~-. _,tSp,.~ct: th~ envirop.ment-<loing all we can to
c? executed prisoners and Roche does not verify the
. 6-eate and enco~ge positive environmental effects
origins of the organs in its China-based trials, its
be acco~table-to anyone for anything we do
position is questionable. 4
)1- ;,;;.-::~,f'- ~<ijii'P.r~,.,corttinuously-always -looking fot better
:ly ?. %G;F.~w;~- -~gs in every area of.our business.2
domg . Roche was testing the drug CellCept on Chinese trans-
{.i.-,,t,, .~sid~s. o.ffering savings accounts and providing loans plant patients because Chinese law requires that any drug
1."
\'- . to "Cit,ga:q.jz;i~j~;>_I)~ that bring real s_ocial, cultural or envi- sold in China must first be tested on Chinese patients. Cell-
.. taLhenefits," 1)aidos Ban.k offered 13 funds in Cept is a drug that preventc;; a patient's immune system from
ed ~tX~;~w:t1tc:,tt_mc1 rv.Ld.~ta co,~ld inys~ t4e.ir'.rp.oney. The funds, rejecting an organ that h<ls been transplanted into the pa-
~p~~w:~:ijf.~t;.,invdt:~.od this 'inoney'ln :':~\'is(ainable" businesses tient. Transplanted organs are taken from people who have
- :-.,~;,~::n'ii,.,~.,~ sed :shares of sto~k ot'rioniP.anies that met its recently died or been declared "brain dead," or from living
3:~1;-"s:tli,tll!:en.t.";~tiJi'c~f crit~~ia" i'ridJ~ili~.t .p~rovid.e sustainable donors who donate an organ or part of an organ when their
..,.~.,:;u~~,~ ,~ - iervice~, br,.achi.ev~~boye averag~ social and remaining organs can regenerate or can take over the work

ay
Rt:tJ.~?Jl~f.:~~~5~i}lli~~~;,~:~ t!IYely_ ~~~~\~bute to.,_::~.. ~:q~~~~;::s,o:;:~ ~:ec~:i::~:e;0~:~a:r:go~ae 1~:~~:~~
W. n "-Jit'J'j'~)l'j_ ,ratn(_Js . the'O"pefations of :. :ofotg:U\sfrom'donors. In particular, most countries do not
. "I''". . ' .
~r.
. rmine.cfilia the ph::1rmace"Ptical com- allow organs to be taken from donors, living or dead , un-
li/ ~:.::~j)an}c~~~.t !the _oartk~s. e,~hiC~l . ~.t;i.t~i:ia anc~ _so qu~Ffied for . less they earlier_givetheir free and informed consent and
fo:;,(thcJ\ii!it:J.g}ts stockin~e~~ap.k's '.p~~ollo of inyestments. many countries do n~t allow donors to trade t~e.ir org.ans
');
~:=: ',;lf.J~.S~;_ ~6]h~J l~?kedJ~kc A~~pu~s~~~ing. addition to its for .mo_ney. Such reqmrements were problematic m C hma,
m ~,.:i ii;iyesbn~ntJi.j.Ij<;l pQrtf<>Ht>= ' ~. :~-\- . ,. :. :1,: . . according to the bank, because most t;ransplant organs came
u. :.t,~r,:-c,~-:~:'r' ~-'.f' . :._.,_~:,. <;;..~ t.,;.;: . :.:?
.. r.. ,/ ..~,!.
~
..! _.;\
~
/.J<.:
! .. t
: : .-~~,-
~
.~
t \1:\ -l ~ ~ - ~!)-
.r. , .
from.
~
prisoner~ and the conditions under which the organ
~~ ... _ r~~~:P.:li.~ ed ;~ . ,~. -:ohi:"' ij.'ft}o/"iifth~ 'Q'est per-
O M . 0 ... ) ... O \ 0

rl.
0

' had be~n removed were often not known:


b! -~~ <:.: ~~ :'"~:> ' (~~Q"f;pJi ~ 'a:c.!~~caLcpmpanies in
~~ ~: \ ;~i!!~ .. ~A~ . ~ . ~ .. - ..it . . .. ,\ . ;A . .
t~:~~~-l~:'rl. . ~!'- ~,cre9~~.i4~~~,~ . ~]\~~ to be trfirlsparent . Up.to 90 percent of all transplanted organs in
.~~~-. }:about sti~~in~bility issu'es, ~!h a comprehensive China come from executed prisoners. Regulation
. : ~~,'
144 BASIC PRINCIPLES

' ~ : ~ : ,' ~' '.I

.~ ~i<;)q.)n..C~i~a . has Western patients owing to ethnic factors or dif-


irti1iirc1ye<ct.)il:i 'Uie].f\st: co,pple 9fY~~.r:~ . ~d in~l:udes ferences in constitution, Dr Schwan said. The
focus o(the ~rials was on [CellCept's) safety and
efficacy in Chinesepatients. 6

In May, 2007, the Chinese government banned the


sale of human organs and required that living donors could
donate their organs only to spouses, blood relatives, or
step and adopted family members. Nevertheless, the organ
j~f!.~!~~~$'f~~~1:~ 4tJqt~~?P.ilc~~att(:r: p.osition trade continued to flourish in China.? Not only were the
1Uitt~~~tft~fifu:&pJl~nt~d.~i:ii;gaJns ;: Sip.ce the organs of deceased people (including executed prisoners
':dghts mi,n-' whose organs it was still legal to "harvest") sold covertly
:~ l'l~u.P.f>'$t~tnclartd, it has been excludeq from the to doctors, hospitals, or organ "brokers," but living donors
also secretly sold their organs by using easily forged docu-
ments testifying that they were related to the recipient of
their organs. 8
A large number of China's prisoners were political
~~~iJ.~:fi)i8W.i.~ij~,Qn~~r;t:l,.<l;by tl;l growing controversy dissidents or those who had been jailed because of their
o,~:~:t~~~.P..~~~:9i>*F~6h ih trah~plant operations that in many religious or political beliefs and not because they had vi o-
~~l~.~~r~;~~W.~~:~~l~~:~~:~r.~:new,h~d to u~e organs taken from lated the law or inflicted harm on others. Since 2006, the
. . . . . . . ' -~~consent" that had Falun Gong, a Chinese quasi-Buddhist spiritual group
~~t~/~~~JW:~-~~~;~~t~~~~!t~),(j~e \comp:my, while banned in 1999 and now actively persecuted by the gov-
!~~~~~~jp~t~~;.n"B!).g~!;9;H:t~. organs of its ernment, had been providing credible evidence that many
.. from prisoners, of the hundreds of thousands of their members imprisoned
~~
c.ompany to find out what was by the Chinese government and who had subsequently !>.<I
~-
nT.<liT>'lT"r1IT. its .Chihese patients' organs. How- "disappeared," had been killed for their organs which were ~

. CQ.JJll~arJtY point~d out, if it did not test its drug then sold or given to transplant cand idates. 9 In the sum- f.
~:~~~~:p~:~pJ~ :P.J:ltlen, J:S in .China, whatever the source of mer of 2010, human rights groups announced that their
t
/:~5~J~~~~J[~~i~i~:~~;: igreater
1c not market investigations had uncovered evidence that more than ~
its drug there. The !~,I'
_; good would be served by 9,000 members ofFalun Gong had been executed in Chi-
&
v..
-~ . -~. "'7"' . te~ts ~veri tho1.1gh many of t~e nese prisons for their corneas, lungs, livers, kidneys, and
.,....' p~tjent:S wer~ harV-ested from
rn:o::i;<>:-<..... ;.r1'"' skin. Imprisoned members of other religious groups in- ~
~tS:~;,;!:t!i~9Jii::U19s''qf. ftini~~ Chit} esc trans-
:_;.\Y~l1Ll!~}ti'Qt:6U:lfY ; t!~ . 4epriv~~ .o f the, benefits
cluding Christians, Muslims, and Tibetan Buddhists had
also been imprisoned and executed for their organs . 10
~.W}~j~}ll~lB~~~P.Y.:.~:~.~-e~'Suffer harmful and Critics of Roche feared that many of the transplanted or-
I!lj

~
~tJ~~Y.~)~~~:H~~l..:~~ ;:::......
:cl~g ,6~t .it WpQld
.
gans of Roche's te~t p~tients had been harvested from such
. prisoners of cons~ience against their will.

Questions
: ~ :
~-. '~xp~~in."'ho~ utilitarianism might provide a defense
. l<;>~J~~.~~:7 . ~~4. ~ow a rig~ts-~ased ~thic mi~ht instead
-.s;ondeW:ll ~o,che's drug trials m Chma. Which of these
)\yo .~tmrd.~~l{~s.is stronger or more reasonable? Ex-
. -plaiii'tlie re~soJ1.s 'for your answer.
2. Is it ethialfor Roche to continue testing CellCept on
' : it.s;olii:Qi!l:e t:ta:rt~plant patients?
3. I~ Ti~Q~ B.a.t~k ethically justified in excluding Roche's
, ~ s~b.c~'ftl:iin the' funds it offers its customers? Consider
y,qura:~.~er in ~ight 0f the bank's duty to invest money
.. ,":1~~\Y.~m4 w- ~g~t of its own conclusion that Roche was
among "the best performing 50% of pharmaceutical
companies in Europe," was "transparent about sustain-
.ability issues," had "a comprehensive position regarding
ET: :ICAL PRINCIPLES IN BUSINESS 145

'gci.delin.es for clin- 4. Ibid.


t~S1~~ndairqs" (or its supjJliers, 5. Ibid.
~t*rrvi>W~iJ!tr'P.ii;il f'P .~rt1~rgy~:9.J}s.m:n ]p t~on an~ green- 6. . Minutes of the 92nd Annual General Meeting of the Share-
. ... holg~r~ ()f-~?<:~e _fJolding Ltd, Basel, held at 10.30 A .M . on
March 2, 2010 at the Convention Centre, Basel Trade Fair
. Complex, Basel; accessed January 12 , 2010 at www.1ocbe.com/
annual_general_meeting_20 10_en.pdf
7. Liu Zhen and Emma Graham-Harrison, "Organ Traffickin g
Trial Exposes Grisly Trade," Reuters, May 19, 2010.
8. Shan Juan, "Organ Trafficking Ring to Go on Trial," Chin a
Daily, March 17, 2010; accessed January 15, 2011 at http://
, ~w.chintu/aily.com.cn/china/2010-03117/content_9599 832 . ht:m
9. David Matas and David Kilgour, Bloody Harvest: 01gan
Harvesting of Falun Gong Practitioners in China, (Woodstock,
ON, Canada: Seraphim Editions, 2009).
10. "Chinese Accused of Vast Trade in Organs," Th e Wasbiugton
Times, April27, 2010.

. .~ ~-.. CASES
~xplore t he Concept o n
mythinkinglab.com

~ S:omp~ny of California, or Unocal, was founded stood to net an estimated $200-$400 mill ion per year fo r
d~vdqp oil fiel,ds around Los Angeles and other the life of the project. A portion of these revenues wouid be
~-P~ltt!!i'' 1t .: {.j~J.Itc,r n1 a. By .1990, Unocal had operations in paid to the companies that partnered with Burma.
/~~~&~~i~{~~~th~-~~ - pil ~usiness, inCluding extraction, refin- MOGE, the government-owned company, signed
'j . . marketing, and even retail (the company a contract with Total agreeing to "assist by providin g
~'1:-.f!~~~'!-:.v+.~":--(.u''"'H 7.6. .gas St;lti_ qns) .. With most oil security protection and rights of way and easements as may
~;r"Qi5ft~i~~~:$ ~i~s ri~ring 1fipJ:~~ori, . the company be requestedby" the companies with which it partnered. 4
n I':I,H ' t 'n .11.n"rP.c. h nr'r in "ep.'ergy ."projeCtS OUtSide the V&ile its partner companies would actually construct the
-~...:'""''"' ~''~ J ' --==-- --~c : : "'1....." 1~.. .n,r_was'.:t8inark~t itself to govern- project, Burma would provide security through its army,
n:a<L~:Ill).e;rtt~~~-cip.all aspects of oil which would also ensure that land was cleared and rights of
f!a!~Il,Q.\;~,~ P.r.~c,l"Qc: n~11.';.;~ccqrplltlg;1t~.t~:9ger:c. Beach, CEO way secured for the passage of the pipeline through Burma.
O"Atrf>:hi't.n ent li!res about The Btlimese project appealed to Unocal. Burma was

ltJII~!~;~~~~~l~~~;;t~otake
attractive for several reasons. First, labor was cheap and
relatively educate.d. Second, Burma was rich in natu;al gas
the resources~ and its' many other untapped resources presented
major opportunities. Third, Burma was an entry point into
_o ther potentially l.ucrative international markets. Burma not
::,:-qAly:dff~_re~ lipo'teptially large market itself, it also occu-
. pi'ed alttit:~mc location.that could serve as a link to markets
in China,'rndb, ancl other countries in Southeast .A.s.ia. Fi-
nally, the Burm~se government maintained a stable political
climate. With the military to maintain law and order, the
political environment was extremely dependable.
]~efor7 cqm~i~ng itself to the project, Unocal evalu-
ated its risk.position by conducting research on the social-
pbllrlcal environment of the country. Burma is a Southeast
:c3~JJH}!~ijrle to transport Asian country with a population of 42 million and land
r.~~~~rn,~r-~ the go~emrnenr mass about the size ofTexa.>. Burma is bounded by lndia
. ~overnment of Burma to the northwest, China to the north and northeast Laos

You might also like