United Kingdom research governance strategy

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Abstract
Commercial potential In our previous paper we discussed the many partnerships and networks springing up with the commercial sector, the lack of clear accountability arrangements, and the potential for conflicts of interest introduced by the reforms of NHS research and development.4 The involvement of commercial interests was also promoted in the Health and Social Care Act 2001. This encourages NHS institutions to exploit the intellectual property derived from research on patient data and tissues for commercial gain. The head of research for GlaxoSmithKline described the NHS as one of the most underexploited resources of genetic data and tissue in the world,5 which illustrates the large potential for conflicts of interest. The risks posed by maximising the economic potential of research on human subjects have been partly ameliorated by enhanced legal protection—for example, through the wide ranging Human Rights Act 1998 and the Data Protection Act 1998. Specific research areas are also becoming the subject of protective legislation—for example, the use of ionising radiation in research,6 a new Human Tissue Bill, and regulation of clinical trials. Such legislation not only replaces professional codes of medical ethics with legal statute but places legal requirements on institutions, including NHS trusts.7 8 Credit: SUE SHARPLES Acknowledgments We thank Naomi Pfeffer, Azeem Majeed, and Alan Thompson for their comments.