Drugs and bioethics in the field of nephrology

Abstract

Physicians always have to take the ethical decision of how to manage the patient's need, mainly in experimental studies of new drugs. Nephrologists today are engaged in the control of innovation of some drugs of daily use such as antihypertensives, cholesterol and phospate lowering agents and ESA. One of the emerging problem in clinical studies is the bioethics of placebo. We must acknowledge the ethical issues that arise when placebo is considered instead of a proven drug of the same class, constituting infringements of human rights and interfering with the rights of the patients to have the best available drugs to promote their health as they wish. The excessive use of placebo in controlled studies leads to the so-called “me too” drugs that are the photocopy of a pre-existing drug. This is a critical point in the development of new treatment in nephrology patients. They need innovative drugs instead of the existing ones. The “me too” drugs are weak in giving a valid answer to the needs of the patients. (Bioethics)