Studien zu neuen Immuntherapien: Herausforderungen aus Sicht der Ethik

Novel immune therapies are more and more based on the molecular differentiation of disease patterns and related clinical studies are thus more often characterized by so-called adaptive study designs (umbrella or basket studies including platform studies), which are continuously adjusted based on novel results. This paper analyses new study designs beyond the often-postulated need for regulation in order to identify ethical problems based on typical structural features and to – whenever possible – suggest solutions. Additionally to the relationship between social and scientific values of a study as well as aspects of the scientific validity of new forms of evidence, the inclusion of study subjects under the condition of relative uncertainty, specific challenges in the process of ethical approval, as well as ethical and practical challenges in the process of informing patients and receiving informed consent will be addressed.