Letters
Responsibilities of sponsors are limited in premature discontinuation of trials
BMJ 2001; 323 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.323.7303.53 (Published 07 July 2001) Cite this as: BMJ 2001;323:53
- Richard Ashcroft, lecturer in medical ethics
- Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, Department of Primary Health Care and General Practice, London W6 8RP
EDITOR—The contributions by Lièvre et al and Pocock and Evans make important points about the ethical problems surrounding early termination of trials for non-scientific reasons. 1 2 But their argument about the responsibilities of sponsors goes too far.
The Declaration of Helsinki makes it clear that sponsors and investigators do have obligations to the participants enrolled into the trial. These include fair treatment, avoiding exploitation and unnecessary harm, and …
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