SciDev.Net

South–South research collaboration can be a powerful strategy for boosting scientific capacity and achieving common goals. But it should not be embraced uncritically, says Athar Osama.

Manufacturers in sub-Saharan Africa need policy support at all levels if their technological capabilities are to catch up with other developing countries. Carlo Pietrobelli looks at problems and solutions.

Despite the urgent need for a malaria vaccine, progress in developing one has been slow and scientists do not always agree on the best way forward. This policy brief outlines the current status of malaria vaccine research.

An outline of the financial and non-financial instruments that developing country governments can use to boost technology-generating efforts in production enterprises.

How can developing countries construct national science, technology and innovation policies to enhance their development? This policy brief provides a guide to the issues involved.

What standard of care can clinical trial participants expect once the trial is over? Richard Ashcroft explores the ethical arguments for responsibilities of both researchers and sponsors of trials.

Sue Eckstein reviews existing schemes to build capacity in research ethics in developing countries, which range from sponsored academic degree programmes to tailored courses and one-off meetings.

James Lavery provides an introduction to the regulation of international human subjects research, describing the different approaches used, and highlighting some of the challenges faced.

Ethical review committees are the main way of ensuring that clinical research conforms to ethical standards. But, as Zulfiqar A. Bhutta explains, the work of such committees is severely constrained in many developing countries.

Brian Greenwood & William P. Hausdorff discuss the controversial area of what happens on completion of a clinical trial - in particular the extent of the ethical responsibilities of researchers and sponsors - and ways in which these responsiblities can be met.

This policy brief explores one of the most contentious issues in research ethics, namely the level of treatment or other medical intervention – usually referred to as the ‘standard of care’ – that should be given to participants in clinical trials.

A growing number of critics of 'bioprospecting' complain that companies often fail to adequately compensate holders of traditional knowledge, and that patents on products developed in this way are actually a form of intellectual piracy.

An important issue raised by current debates on intellectual property rights — particularly in the context of their impact on developing countries — are the consequences that legislation protecting such rights may have for food security.

While intellectual property rights tend to be seen as primarily and economic or legal issue, it has been increasingly argued in recent years that there is also a broader 'human rights' dimension.

Patents have long been a central feature of the pharmaceutical industry, but in recent years, the relationship between patents and availability of essential drugs has become highly controversial, especially in developing countries.