Guiding Icarus: Merging Bioethics with Corporate Interests [Paperback]

"useful to biotechnologists, regulatory affairs managers, and corporate officers of biotech firms, as well as bioethicists..." (Genetic Engineering News, July 2002)

"...if you read The Economist you'll doubtless find this of interest..." (Focus, August 2002)

"...offers an insider's view on why a bridge is needed to merge bioethics with corporate needs...written for the general audience...is especially useful to biotechnologists, regulatory affairs managers, and corporate officers of biotech firms, as well as bioethicists..." (Genetic Engineering News, Vol. 22, No. 13, July 2002)

"...lays out a blueprint for executives...focusing on four subjects..." (HBS (Harvard Business School) Working Knowledge, July 2002)

"This book should stimulate much useful discussion in the biotechnology industry...the author should be congratulated." (Nature Biotechnology, August 1, 2002)

"...a must read for those interested in understanding how bioethics can help industry develop ethically and socially responsible biotechnologies." (Canadian Medical Association Journal, August 20, 2002)

"Dhanda applies a case study approach to four timely topics: genetically modified foods, DNA databanking, personalized medicine, and stem cell research. In each case, Dhanda gives a very basic review of the science, discusses the potential benefits of the technology and the ethical issues, and then uses prominent corporate examples to raise relevant issues and draw lessons." (JAMA, January 22/29, 2003-Vol 289, No. 4)

"The time couldn’t be better for a book on the ethical issues associated with biotechnology...discussions...are clearly welcome and needed." (Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol. 289, No. 4, January 2003)

"…an interesting and useful resource for any industry insider…" (Chemistry & Industry)

“…an interesting and useful resource for any industry insider…”(Chemistry & Industry, 21 April 2003)

While bioethicists may enjoy the most thorough appreciation of both the promise and perils of new biotechnologies, international corporations are in fact the entities generating these technologies and determining their application. An industry insider versed in the language of bioethics, Rahul Dhanda offers in Guiding Icarus: Merging Bioethics with Corporate Interests a Rosetta stone to these two camps, explaining why each needs the other, why their disparate concerns often cohere, and why an ethical business is likely a successful one.

The author develops a dialogue between bioethics and corporate interests by examining case studies of several hot-button issues, including:

• Genetically modified foods
• DNA data banking
• Personalized medicine
• Stem cell research

In each instance he provides a treatment of the particular science under consideration, a list of the benefits of the technology, a description of the ethical issues involved, an account of past industry response, and recommendations for future action. Given the expansive nature of biotechnology, ramifications in the pharmaceutical and agricultural industries are covered in depth as well. The book also features a Foreword by world-renowned bioethicist and biotechnology CEO Philip R. Reilly as well as a step-by-step discussion of the components of business and bioethical issues.

Written for a general audience, Guiding Icarus will be particularly useful to biotechnologists, regulatory affairs managers, and corporate officers of biotechnology firms, as well as bioethicists in the academic community. Dhanda's peerless text provides a unique tool for understanding and addressing the ethical dilemmas confronting society in the 21st century.