Ethics of Outsourcing Drug Trials

With rising costs of drug testing and more stringent requirements, Western countries have been increasingly outsourcing their drug trials. While such actions make sense from a cost-benefit point of view, can we conclude the same from a marketing-ethics perspective? Are these lesser-developed countries being held to the same ethical standards and practices as expected in the Western countries? Are the drug companies' actions somehow influencing the research participants' decision to partake in such trials? The author applies the theory of reasoned action and ethical marketing underpinnings to develop relevant propositions. Consequently, drug testing companies, research participants, and marketing agencies can utilize these propositions to investigate whether more rigorous oversight is required to protect research participants.