July 24, 2023 08:12 pm | Updated July 26, 2023 01:24 am IST - NEW DELHIIndia has taken its first step to introduce Controlled Human Infection Studies (CHIS), used in many countries for vaccine and treatment development. Riddled with ethical issues, CHIS has still now been a no-go area for India, but Indian Council of Medical Research’s (ICMR) Bioethics Unit is set to change this. “This paper is aimed at addressing a variety of ethical issues so that research can be conducted in India without compromising on ethical principles while ensuring the protection of human participants,” notes ICMR. “Hence these studies need a streamlined ethics review process with additional ethical oversight and safeguards to protect the study participants,’‘ notes the paper. These studies may play a crucial role in advancing the scientific understanding of infectious diseases and thereby accelerating the development of treatment strategies.

Source: The Hindu July 26, 2023 00:26 UTC