Business Ethics Drug or Medical Device

Questions: Section A Read the following news item and answer the questions: 1. Suppose that Medtronic did promote the off-label use of its products as alleged by Lew. What are the main ethical issues raised by the promotion of its products for unapproved uses? Do you think that such practices are morally permissible or unethical? Provide detailed reasons to support your conclusions.2. Lawyers for UCLA claim that both Lew and Weiss were made aware of the nature and risks of the surgery and that they both signed consent forms to this effect. Does this absolve the surgeons and/or Medtronic of moral responsibility for the harms caused to Lew and Weiss as a result of the surgery? Why/Why not?3. In the US it is illegal to promote off-label use of products. Would it make a difference to your assessment of the case if such activities were not against the law? Why/Why not? Section B Watch or read the transcript of the following program and answer the questions: 4. Do large food and beverage companies have any moral obligation or responsibility to consider the consequences for public health of marketing and distributing certain kinds of food and drink products? Why/Why not? Answer this question using examples from the documentary to support your conclusions. 5. The program describes a range of marketing techniques used by food and beverage companies in different countries: the marketing of soft drinks to schools in Mexico; the door to door selling of snack foods fortified with micronutrients and marketed to low income families in Brazil; a snack food boat that visits small villages along the Amazon to promote and sell food and drinks. Do you find any of these marketing techniques morally problematic? Explain in each case, why or why not. Section C 6. Compare your responses to the two cases. Do you apply the same principles and standards of conduct to medical device companies as you do to food and beverage companies? What are the morally relevant differences/similarities between the two cases? Answers: Section A 1. When a drug or medical device is used on a category of person on whom it has not yet been authorized to be used, it is known as off label use of drug. The off-label use of drug is not always illegal unless such use is accompanied with violation of ethical codes and safety regulations for the public. The promotion of off level use of drugs by a drug manufacturing company is illegal and unethical. This is not permitted even if the use of that drug is backed by scientific reasons. The use of off label drug by a doctor can be allowed in certain circumstances but the promotion of these drugs can lead to encouragement of doctors to use off label drugs on unapproved patients. Such activities are completely unethical because, if the company offers benefits to the doctors against the promotion of off label drugs the doctors will be tempted to use them more frequently and sometimes unnecessarily (Tetsuro , 2015). 2. According to the claim of UCLA, the victims Lew and Weiss were made aware of the risks involved in the surgery (Times, 2016). This information or awareness does not by any chance remove the liability of Dr. Wang to conduct the surgery with utmost care and diligence. The victims had laid their trust in the hospital and the doctor and it is their moral duty to live up to their expectations and do operate without thinking about any personal gains which may have the slightest chance of causing harm to the victims. The $10000 accepted by Dr. Wang given by Medtronic caused a conflict of interest and may have caused the doctor to use the off-label medical device on the victims, which ultimately caused harm to them. 3. The United States of America has made it illegal for medical companies to promote off-label drugs. In many countries, this provision is not available and the companies are actually not barred for promoting off-label drugs if their use is not harmful in nature. Whether these activities are illegal or not is a different question. Even if they are legal, the promotion of off-label drugs cannot be ethical. This type of promotion can make the doctors greedy and they will not do their duty with diligence. This will tempt them to use the off-label drug by the company even when it is not needed so that it increases the sale. This type of unapproved drug use can lead to serious health issues among patients. Section B 4. The market of modern food and beverages industries is growing at a very rapid rate but at the cost of serious health issues to its consumers. Statistics show that the percentage of obese people around the world is increasing day by day. Product such as carbonated soft drinks, fried snacks and other fast food items are very dense in calories and low on their nutritional value. These products when consumed lead to gradual weigh gain and which eventually results in obesity. Not only obesity these foods also cause serious problems like obesity, heart diseases and even cancer. As per the provided documentary Fabiana Gomes has a body mass index of 50.5, which is way above the normal range of 25. She has gained all the weight because of ever eating and now is finding it difficult to get it off even with the help of diets and exercise (Globesity, 2016) These companies have the moral obligation mention the adverse effects of their products like the tobacco and alcohol companies do. These companies should also take the initiative to spread the awareness about the ill effects of over consuming their product. 5. The marketing strategies used by these companies towards the sale of their products have changed in the recent years. Now the companies are using strategies such as door-to-door selling, food boats and selling products in school. These products have very little or no micronutrients and are low in cost. The company has a moral duty of prohibiting the occurrence of serious health issues in its consumers. By using these marketing strategies to increase their sales are resulting in the over consumption of these products by the people which is ultimately leading to diseases like diabetes, cardiac issues, obesity and cancer (Morgen Srensen, 2014). 6. In the first case, the mistake of the doctor can cause instant fatality so it needs to be handled with utmost care as compared to the second case where changes in marketing strategies are the main concern. In the first case, the doctors have a promise towards their patients that they will do their duty with utmost care towards them. They also have the responsibility to remain loyal to their patients and not let any personal benefit become an obstruction in doing their duties with care. In the latter case, the food and beverages companies have the moral responsibility to provide utility to its consumers as well as to prevent any harm to their health in relation to their products consumed by them. Bibliography: Globesity - Fat's New Frontier - Foreign Correspondent - ABC. (2016). Abc.net.au. Retrieved 5 November 2016, from https://www.abc.net.au/foreign/content/2012/s3547707.htm Moodie, R., Stuckler, D., Monteiro, C., Sheron, N., Neal, B., Thamarangsi, T., ... Lancet NCD Action Group. (2013). Profits and pandemics: prevention of harmful effects of tobacco, alcohol, and ultra-processed food and drink industries.The Lancet,381(9867), 670-679. Morgen, C. S., Srensen, T. I. (2014). Obesity: global trends in the prevalence of overweight and obesity.Nature Reviews Endocrinology,10(9), 513-514. Neville, K. A., Frattarelli, D. A., Galinkin, J. L., Green, T. P., Johnson, T. D., Paul, I. M., Van Den Anker, J. N. (2014). Off-label use of drugs in children.Pediatrics,133(3), 563-567. Tetsuro, H. I. R. A. N. O. (2015). A Structure of Doctor?s Civil Liabilities: In Search of a Contract-based Uniformed Legal Framework Best Serving Both Doctors and Patients. Times, L. (2016). Regents OK $8.5 million for 2 patients suing over financial conflicts at UCLA. latimes.com. Retrieved 5 November 2016, from https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ucla-wang-medtronics-20160729-snap-story.html