Reference no: EM133273589

First, people in LMIC might be involved in the collective decision-making process rather than their individual choice for consent in clinical trials. Therefore, the decision is taken by the community as a whole and not an individually approved consent for the clinical studies. Furthermore, the communities who have participated in the study do not have access to the approved treatments once it is approved for human use because of their high cost even though they are the ones who take the burden of risks by enrolling in clinical studies. Most of the time, the decision made by people in LMIC is influenced by the lack of access to their basic needs like food, health care, and money which might result in unnecessary exploitation. The article presents a few clinical trials in LMIC where placebos were given to participants while researchers using the contemporary standard of care in the United States and other economically advanced countries. The placebo control groups would never be permitted in the US as per the declaration of Helsinki in 2000, then it should not be permitted in poor countries as well. On the other hand, Harriet Washington, a medical ethicist at Columbia University mentions that the standard care available to people in LMIC is equal to nothing. Therefore, the trials involving the use of placebos could be permitted in LMIC while not in developed countries.

The main cause of these ethical issues is because of the differences in ethical standards in developing and developed nations. The organizers with financial interests in their sponsoring companies may compromise their professional judgment and overlook the participant's welfare to gain profit.