Regulating the Market in Human Research Participants

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to provide an overview and analysis of the ethical and legal issues surrounding the use of "finder's fees" and other recruitment incentives, which are increasingly used to stimulate the recruitment of patients to clinical trials by clinical investigators. The authors argue that the problems raised by finder's fees cannot be resolved by focusing exclusively on sanctioning the individuals who may accept them. Rather, they ought to be addressed as part of a broader institutional and regulatory reform effort designed to address weaknesses in research governance. The authors offer recommendations for how such reforms might be effected, noting that they ought to include specific institutional and regulatory guidance on conflicts-of-interest.