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Oversight of Dual-Use Research: What Role for Ethics Committees? Publisher Pubmed



Guraiib MM1 ; Ross AL1 ; Frewer A2 ; Sprumont D3, 4 ; Gooshki ES5, 6, 7 ; Dzenowagis J8 ; Reis AA1
Authors
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Authors Affiliations
  1. 1. Research for Health Department, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland
  2. 2. Medicine, Friedrich-Alexander-Universitat Erlangen-Nurnberg, Germany
  3. 3. Institute of Health Law, University of Neuchatel, Neuchatel, Switzerland
  4. 4. Research Ethics Committee of the Canton of Vaud, Lausanne, Switzerland
  5. 5. Medical Ethics and History of Medicine Research Center, Tehran, Iran
  6. 6. University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
  7. 7. Monash Bioethics Center, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
  8. 8. World Health Organization Ethics Review Committee, Geneva, Switzerland

Source: Health Security Published:2024


Abstract

The World Health Organization (WHO) Global Guidance Framework for the Responsible Use of the Life Sciences addresses the governance of biorisks, including dual-use research, for countries. It emphasizes engaging multisectoral stakeholders such as governments, scientific bodies, health and research institutes, standard-setting organizations, funding bodies, and others. Ethics constitutes a key component of the framework. Given the high social impact of such research and the importance of trust, risk, and benefit, national ethics committees could make a valuable contribution by providing ethical guidance in the decisionmaking process. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of national ethics committees in the context of governance and oversight of dual-use research at the national level. We conducted a landscape analysis of the activities of ethics committees in dual-use research oversight. We also searched the WHO database on National Ethics Committees for publications related to dual-use research and/or misuse of life sciences research and gathered additional documentation from national ethics committees websites and through author contacts. Results showed that in the context of the wide range of oversight mechanisms for dual-use research in countries, national ethics committees have contributed to guiding policy and assessing dual-use research risks in only a limited number of countries. Recommendations from those countries include establishing a multistakeholder, coordinated oversight mechanism at the country level; strengthening international linkages to guide, harmonize, and reinforce national and international efforts; and involving ethics committees as an expert resource in the governance and oversight process. ª The Author(s) 2024.