Handbook : quality practices in basic biomedical research / prepared for TDR by the scientific working group on quality practices in basic biomedical research
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Date
2005
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Abstract
The world’s population is facing serious health challenges in the form of newly
emerging diseases or disease patterns e.g. avian influenza, severe acute respiratory
syndrome (SARS), transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (bovine spongiform
encephalopathy, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV),
Ebola, and multidrug resistant diseases or organisms such as malaria. There are in-
creasing difficulties in treating ‘old’ diseases such as trypanosomiasis, onchocerciasis,
diabetes, hypertension and cancer. The problem is worsened by the changing age dis-
tribution in populations, greater population movements that promote transmission of
diseases, new practices in land use, agriculture and forestry, and changing world cli-
mate, to name but a few. As a result, there is increased demand for new drugs and new
principles for treatment, based on new knowledge about the causes and mechanisms of
diseases, and for new methods of vector control. The search for these commodities and
principles increases the need for scientific researchers and research programmes. With
the continued restrictions in available funding, it is essential that basic scientific
research as a whole, and especially in all fields connected with health issues, be con-
ducted in a proper fashion using processes that minimize waste of resources and reduce
the need for costly confirmation and repetition of work already performed.
Today, research facilities in many universities, hospitals, government institutions and
industries are used for basic scientific studies relevant to the discovery and develop-
ment of new strategies for fighting disease including products with potential usefulness
in health care. Data from these activities need to be reliable to ensure a solid basis for
deciding whether to invest in further development of a strategy or product. Since the
activities fall outside regulatory scope, i.e. they are not covered by, for example, the
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Principles of Good
Laboratory Practice (GLP), a need for guidance on quality practices in these areas has
been recognized. This is why this handbook was commissioned.
It should not be surprising, therefore, to find that some controversies in the scientific
literature could probably have been resolved earlier, more easily and better if the prac-
tical experimental conditions had been fully described, or if the supportive data had
been properly collected.
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Keywords
Biomedical, Research, Quality
Citation
UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases & Scientific Working Group on Quality Practices in Basic Biomedical Research. (2006). Handbook : quality practices in basic biomedical research / prepared for TDR by the Scientific Working Group on Quality Practices in Basic Biomedical Research. World Health Organization.