Clinical research and patient protection Moo Sang Lee 1Committee for Ethics and Judicial Review, KMA, Korea.
2Gachon University of Medicine and Science, Incheon, Korea. mooslee@gachon.ac.kr Abstract Clinical trials are the flower of clinical research. Recently such clinical trials occur increasingly on a global scale. Korea is also one of the countries newly involved in global clinical trials, with resulting scientific, economic, industrial, and ethical implications. The sweeping and meticulous precautions must be introduced to these global clinical trials promoting patient protection through the public, national and international surveillance. These many guidelines in clinical trials are based on the Declaration of Helsinki of the World Medical Association (WMA). Fortunately, we were proud to be able to host the WMA 2008 meeting in Seoul, where the sixth edition of this declaration was announced. Thus, KMA insists that all clinical trials in Korea maintain strict standards and that all our member physicians follow the Declaration of Helsinki and be observers. Key Words: Clinical trials, Patient protection, Globalization, Helsinki Declaration