Professional Documents
Culture Documents
.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
. 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
. .~ ~-.. 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