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Roche’s Clinical Trials with Organs from Prisoners: Does Profit Trump Morals?

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  • Judith Schrempf-Stirling

Abstract

This case study discusses the economic, legal, and ethical considerations for conducting clinical trials in a controversial context. In 2010, pharmaceutical giant Roche received a shame award by the Swiss non-governmental organization Berne Declaration and Greenpeace for conducting clinical trials with organs taken from executed prisoners in China. The company respected local regulations and industry ethical standards. However, medical associations condemned organs from executed prisoners on moral grounds. Human rights organizations demanded that Roche ended its clinical trials in China immediately. Students are expected to review the economic and ethical issues regarding the outsourcing of clinical trials to controversial human rights contexts, and discuss how to make business decisions when there are conflicts between making profit and ethical considerations. Was Roche complicit in the human rights violations that were related to its clinical trials? Future patients might benefit from these clinical trials. Do profit and the greater good, in general, trump morals? Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014

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  • Judith Schrempf-Stirling, 2014. "Roche’s Clinical Trials with Organs from Prisoners: Does Profit Trump Morals?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 121(2), pages 315-328, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:121:y:2014:i:2:p:315-328
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-013-1723-1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Xiaomin Yu, 2008. "Impacts of Corporate Code of Conduct on Labor Standards: A Case Study of Reebok’s Athletic Footwear Supplier Factory in China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 81(3), pages 513-529, September.
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    3. John Ruggie, 2008. "Protect, Respect and Remedy: A Framework for Business and Human Rights," Innovations: Technology, Governance, Globalization, MIT Press, vol. 3(2), pages 189-212, April.
    4. J. Hamilton & Stephen Knouse & Vanessa Hill, 2009. "Google in China: A Manager-Friendly Heuristic Model for Resolving Cross-Cultural Ethical Conflicts," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 86(2), pages 143-157, May.
    5. David Krueger, 2009. "Ethical Reflections on the Opportunities and Challenges for International Business in China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 89(2), pages 145-156, November.
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    Cited by:

    1. Judith Schrempf-Stirling & Florian Wettstein, 2017. "Beyond Guilty Verdicts: Human Rights Litigation and its Impact on Corporations’ Human Rights Policies," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 145(3), pages 545-562, October.
    2. A. Rebecca Reuber & Anna Morgan-Thomas, 2019. "Communicating Moral Legitimacy in Controversial Industries: The Trade in Human Tissue," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 154(1), pages 49-63, January.

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