Ethical issues in Medical Research – SOPs for IEC and Researchers

A CME on “Ethical issues in Medical Research – SOPs for IEC and Researchers” was conducted by Department of Pharmacology, PIMS in association with ISRPT and MCI on 23^rd August 2018. 4 CME hours were accredited by Punjab Medical Council. CME was attended by more than 450 delegates of different specialties from across the region. Eminent speakers discussed various ethical issues involved in Biomedical Research in detail. Dr. Kulbir Kaur, Director Principal, PIMS inaugurated the program. Dr. Jagminder Kaur Bajaj, Professor & Head, Pharmacology, PIMS, Jalandhar, organizing chairperson welcomed the delegates. Dr. Sandeep Kaushal, Professor & Head, Pharmacology, DMC Ludhiana and organizing secretary of ISRPT sensitized delegates to the importance of Ethics in Research involving human participants. Dr. PL Sharma, Professor, Emeritus, PGI, Chandigarh described the roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders including Principal Investigator, Sponsors, Ethics Committee and Media in safeguarding the interest of Research Participants.

Current regulations of clinical trials were discussed by Dr. Nusrat Shafiq, Additional Professor, Pharmacology, PGI Chandigarh. Dr. Amol Patil and Dr. Ashish Kakkar from PGI, Chandigarh elaborated on serious adverse events, their reporting timelines and compensations. The procedure for registration of IEC with DCGI and NABH accreditation to ensure its proper functioning was discussed by Dr. Prem Khosla, Professor and Head, Pharmacology from Subharti Medical College, Meerut. Subsequently, there was panel discussion on various ethical dilemma faced by IECs while approving protocols for clinical research.