Abstract
The medical innovation bill being proposed by Lord Saatchi is laudable in its intentions. 1 But the medical innovation bill runs the risk of further embedding the practice of defensive medicine by setting out even more legal criteria that could expand the scope of legally defined medical negligence.
Furthermore, the distinction between clinical research with no direct benefit to patient and innovative treatment intended to benefit the patient is an artificial one. Hence, the laudable aims of medical innovation bill are likely to run foul of the EU clinical trials directive.
The EU clinical trials directive, which initially set out with the commendable aims of promoting research and protecting patients, ended up stifling academically led, innovative, cutting edge research. The mountains of paperwork essential for demonstrating compliance with EU clinical trials directive choked off the seeds of innovation.2,3
The cancer researchers would be grateful if Lord Saatchi and peers could devote their energies to removing the yoke of EU directive on small, academically led, innovative studies.
Footnotes
Competing interests
None declared