A UK government committee has criticised plans for a new medical database project, which aims to collect genetic and health information from 500,000 volunteers aged between 45 and 69. The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee considered the £45 million Biobank UK proposal in its third report, published last week.
It raises concerns over the decisions taken to fund the project, which is to be jointly financed by the Medical Research Council (MRC), the Wellcome Trust and the Department of Health. It also accuses the MRC of failing to adequately consult the scientific community over its plans, and that researchers are being denied funding as a result of the new project, allegations that the MRC has strongly refuted.
Prior to the report, the Biobank project had attracted criticism from the Consumers Association and pressure groups GeneWatch UK and Human Genetics Alert, as well as some scientists. MP Ian Gibson, chair of the Science and Technology Select Committee, said last year that Biobank needed to be 'scrutinised and publicly debated by everyone, and first of all by MPs'. The resulting report says that Biobank is an exciting project, and commends 'the MRC's efforts to ensure that the UK is taking the lead in harvesting the fruits of the human genome'. However, it also expresses concern that funds were allocated to the project before the scientific questions over its value and methodology were fully addressed. Some UK scientists have also expressed doubts about the project's usefulness, including geneticist Alec Jeffreys. He is not convinced that a large-scale longitudinal study will necessarily yield more insights than traditional case-control studies, reports the journal Science.
MRC chief executive George Radda says he is 'surprised and disappointed' by the report. In its statement, the council rejects the suggestion that it does not consult widely about what it does, but accepts that it should have been doing more to keep its community informed about the MRC's financial position and the impact on funding opportunities.
Sources and References
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U.K.'s Biomedical Agency Gets a Parliamentary Tongue-Lashing
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Science and Technology - third report
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MRC response to the House of Commons Science and Technology report on the work of the Medical Research Council
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