But her good ideas let us see a little way into the future. It's clear that before long, we'll have to have a set of stronger federal guidelines governing trials of genetically derived therapeutic agents on human beings. Yes, the FDA already has regulations in place. But they haven't been thoroughly revisited since 1981. Time for an update.
Central government is the right place to start.
Federal law will provide the framework. The states will have a further role to play in policing the proper testing of genetic and genomic products. With so much of the world's drug and genomic research taking place between here and New York City, it's time for Pennsylvania and New Jersey lawmakers to sit down with scientists, ethicists and legal experts and hammer out the future. No one can claim the government doesn't like clinical trials. On Wednesday, President Clinton ordered Medicare to guarantee coverage for the costs of seniors who participate in clinical trials.