And it is, with an action plan on ethics in research that has the potential to be a national model.Minnesota StarTribuneby Eric W. KalerMay 30, 2015Difficult ethical issues are inherent in medical research, especially clinical trials involving human subjects. Research holds the promise of finding lifesaving treatments, but it sometimes depends on the participation of vulnerable patients suffering from serious illnesses. We at the University of Minnesota take seriously our responsibility to patients participating in clinical studies, and our critics are wrong when they assert that we have turned a blind eye to our ethical obligations [“Medical research: Honor code still needs strengthening,” a May 27 commentary by U Prof. Carl Elliott].
Let me be clear about Dan Markingson’s 2004 death by suicide, which is at the center of much of this conversation. The events have been the subject of many proceedings, including two reviews by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration [2005 and 2015], a lawsuit in Hennepin County District Court [2008], complaints to the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice against two doctors [2009 and 2010], and a review by the legislative auditor [2015].
As the legislative auditor concluded, we can never know if Markingson’s tragic death was the result of a clinical study conducted at 26 sites, including the University of Minnesota. However, it is clear we could have done better in our response to the concerns raised about these events. I have apologized to Dan Markingson’s mother, to a legislative committee and at public forums…
To their credit, our university faculty wanted further assurance that our current program was at the highest levels of ethics and science, and in December 2013 the Faculty Senate requested an independent external evaluation of our human subjects protection program…
Critics are important voices, but there comes a point at which criticism of past actions stops being a catalyst for reform and, instead, becomes a barrier to necessary change in the future. We can’t change the past, but with vigilance, dedication and integrity, we will move forward. I promise all Minnesotans, our faculty and students, and our future patients and their families that the University of Minnesota’s human subjects research program will soon be a model for other universities.
I shocked to learn from Carl Elliot’s article in Mother Jones that social workers were hired to evaluate the test subjects’ responses. It just floored me.