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Ethics Sub-project

Figure: Adobe Stock / 1852821846 / KI

The ethics sub-project explores the (medical) ethical aspects of phage research and phage therapy. In particular, this involves addressing questions regarding the ethical justification of clinical trial design and the use of personalised phage therapeutics.

The findings of the ethics sub-project are therefore initially relevant to answering the question of how, taking the Nagoya Protocol into account, an ethically justifiable approach to access to genetic resources and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits can be achieved when phages are commercially exploited outside the country in which they were collected.

Furthermore, the findings of the medical ethics sub-project are relevant to the scientific development of guidelines for assessing the ethical justifiability of clinical trials involving phage therapeutics. Finally, the findings of the ethics sub-project are significant for the development of ethical recommendations on the manufacture and use of phage therapeutics in individualised contexts, where a phage therapeutic is typically prepared in a (hospital) pharmacy to meet the specific needs of a particular patient. Ethical recommendations are necessary here, as under current legislation, no clinical trials or authorisation procedures are required prior to therapeutic use in such individualised contexts.

The medical ethics sub-project is based at Martin Luther University.

Staff:

Dr. phil. Hans Zillmann, M.A., N.N.

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