Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Huang Sue-ying (黃淑英) urged the Department of Health (DOH) yesterday to ban international pharmaceutical companies from exporting genetic data gathered in Taiwan.
Huang told a press conference that several doctors had said there has been a substantial increase in the number of hospital-based projects proposed by international pharmaceutical companies to collect human genetic data here.
The information was usually exported to the companies’ home countries to establish the firms’ biological databases for new drug innovation or medical research, she said.
“Almost all the international pharmaceutical companies have been doing this. The phenomenon is particularly common among hospitals that do human experiments,” Huang said, without naming companies or hospitals.
Huang said the practice had become prevalent because the legislature had yet to pass any legislation regulating the collection of genetic information. The health department should bar the export of genetic information already collected until legislators can pass protective legislation.
“[We] have not even resolved the human rights controversy surrounding the nation’s Taiwan Biobank project,” Huang said, warning that the collection of samples could violate test subjects’ privacy.
The health department’s Taiwan Biobank project aims to collect blood samples from 200,000 people to be used in research into the connection between human genes and diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular ailments.
But DPP legislators and human rights activists have expressed concerns that the data could be put to inappropriate use without written regulations and violate participants’ human rights.
Chiou Wen-tsong (邱文聰), a member of Academia Sinica’s Human Subject Research Ethics Committee, said the existing Notice of Collection and Application of Human Body Samples for Research Purposes (研究用人體檢體採集與使用注意事項) was just an administrative order and therefore did not carry the weight of a law.
He urged the health department to submit relevant legislation as soon as possible.
DOH technical specialist Lee Shu-fang (李淑芳) said the department had submitted a draft act on the management of human biological data banks to the Executive Yuan for review.
Bureau of Medical Affairs Deputy Chief Liu Li-ling (劉麗玲) urged the public to make sure they know how their genetic information would be used when giving blood or tissue samples.
Hong Kong singer Eason Chan’s (陳奕迅) concerts in Kaohsiung this weekend have been postponed after he was diagnosed with Covid-19 this morning, the organizer said today. Chan’s “FEAR and DREAMS” concert which was scheduled to be held in the coming three days at the Kaohsiung Arena would be rescheduled to May 29, 30 and 31, while the three shows scheduled over the next weekend, from May 23 to 25, would be held as usual, Universal Music said in a statement. Ticket holders can apply for a full refund or attend the postponed concerts with the same seating, the organizer said. Refund arrangements would
Taiwanese indie band Sunset Rollercoaster and South Korean outfit Hyukoh collectively received the most nominations at this year’s Golden Melody Awards, earning a total of seven nods from the jury on Wednesday. The bands collaborated on their 2024 album AAA, which received nominations for best band, best album producer, best album design and best vocal album recording. “Young Man,” a single from the album, earned nominations for song of the year and best music video, while another track, “Antenna,” also received a best music video nomination. Late Hong Kong-American singer Khalil Fong (方大同) was named the jury award winner for his 2024 album
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) on Friday laid out the Cabinet’s updated policy agenda and recapped the government’s achievements ahead of the one-year anniversary of President William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration. Cho said the government had made progress across a range of areas, including rebuilding Hualien, cracking down on fraud, improving pedestrian safety and promoting economic growth. “I hope the public will not have the impression that the Cabinet only asked the legislature to reconsider a bunch of legal amendments,” Cho said, calling the moves “necessary” to protect constitutional governance and the public’s interest. The Cabinet would work toward achieving its “1+7” plan, he said. The
RSS