Ethical safeguards in relation to safety

Many of the issues discussed above are addressed in the framework of medicines legislation and in codes such as the Declaration of Helsinki. The pharmaceutical industry also has some voluntary codes, e.g. in relation to advertising practices. 

The role of such committees is to consider ethical aspects of specific research proposals and some lay representation is now the norm. Their key task is to review protocols and any amendments that may be necessary. The safety of trial subjects is always a major consideration. 

These are set up mostly in the context of a large randomised trial in order to protect subjects from safety hazards which might only 

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