Guiding Icarus: Merging Bioethics with Corporate Interests [Paperback]

Rahul K. Dhanda (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0471223808 | ISBN-13: 978-0471223801 | Publication Date: April 11, 2002 | Edition: 1

"There is a palpable need for business to explore the issues Dhanda raises. Guiding Icarus offers a flight plan."
—from the Foreword by Philip R. Reilly

While bioethicists may enjoy the most thorough appreciation of both the promise and perils of new biotechnologies, international corporations are in fact the entities generating these technologies and determining their application. An industry insider versed in the language of bioethics, Rahul Dhanda offers in Guiding Icarus: Merging Bioethics with Corporate Interests a Rosetta stone to these two camps, explaining why each needs the other, why their disparate concerns often cohere, and why an ethical business is likely a successful one.

The author develops a dialogue between bioethics and corporate interests by examining case studies of several hot-button issues, including:

• Genetically modified foods
• DNA data banking
• Personalized medicine
• Stem cell research

In each instance he provides a treatment of the particular science under consideration, a list of the benefits of the technology, a description of the ethical issues involved, an account of past industry response, and recommendations for future action. Given the expansive nature of biotechnology, ramifications in the pharmaceutical and agricultural industries are covered in depth as well. The book also features a Foreword by world-renowned bioethicist and biotechnology CEO Philip R. Reilly as well as a step-by-step discussion of the components of business and bioethical issues.

Written for a general audience, Guiding Icarus will be particularly useful to biotechnologists, regulatory affairs managers, and corporate officers of biotechnology firms, as well as bioethicists in the academic community. Dhanda's peerless text provides a unique tool for understanding and addressing the ethical dilemmas confronting society in the 21st century.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...particularly useful to corporate biotech managers due to Dhanda's explanation of the issues and suggestions on how to engage the public...inherent value in this discourse is how Dhanda explains how an ethical biotech business is likely to be a successful one." (Genomics & Proteomics, May 2002)

"useful to biotechnologists, regulatory affairs managers, and corporate officers of biotech firms, as well as bioethicists..." (Genetic Engineering News, July 2002)

"...if you read The Economist you'll doubtless find this of interest..." (Focus, August 2002)

"...offers an insider's view on why a bridge is needed to merge bioethics with corporate needs...written for the general audience...is especially useful to biotechnologists, regulatory affairs managers, and corporate officers of biotech firms, as well as bioethicists..." (Genetic Engineering News, Vol. 22, No. 13, July 2002)

"...lays out a blueprint for executives...focusing on four subjects..." (HBS (Harvard Business School) Working Knowledge, July 2002)

"This book should stimulate much useful discussion in the biotechnology industry...the author should be congratulated." (Nature Biotechnology, August 1, 2002)

"...a must read for those interested in understanding how bioethics can help industry develop ethically and socially responsible biotechnologies." (Canadian Medical Association Journal, August 20, 2002)

"Dhanda applies a case study approach to four timely topics: genetically modified foods, DNA databanking, personalized medicine, and stem cell research. In each case, Dhanda gives a very basic review of the science, discusses the potential benefits of the technology and the ethical issues, and then uses prominent corporate examples to raise relevant issues and draw lessons." (JAMA, January 22/29, 2003-Vol 289, No. 4)

"The time couldn’t be better for a book on the ethical issues associated with biotechnology...discussions...are clearly welcome and needed." (Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol. 289, No. 4, January 2003)

"…an interesting and useful resource for any industry insider…" (Chemistry & Industry)

“…an interesting and useful resource for any industry insider…”(Chemistry & Industry, 21 April 2003)

Review

"Guiding Icarus [...] is timely and well written. I particularly enjoyed reading the chapters on Personalized Medicine and Stem Cells. People new to these "hot" topics will find [the] descriptions very informative." --Milo Gibaldi, Department of Pharmaceutics, University of Washington School of Pharmacy

A Featured Book Recommendation with a link to buy the book on Harvard Business School's website: "...lays out a blueprint for executives...focusing on four subjects..." --HBS (Harvard Business School) Working Knowledge, July 2002

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 296 pages
• Publisher: Wiley-Liss; 1 edition (April 11, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471223808
• ISBN-13: 978-0471223801
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #829,596 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Indispensable Guide to Corporate Ethics, May 20, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Guiding Icarus: Merging Bioethics with Corporate Interests (Paperback)

Finally, someone has written a book from an insider's perspective that analyzes both bioethics and industry. Having worked in the biotech industry for years, and having an amateur's interest in philosophy and bioethics, I was amazed at how clearly Dhanda was able to synthesize the two. This is a book I wish that I had written, but I cannot imagine how he was able to draw on so much literature from both fields; few in the world could have written such a book due to the immense specialization and division of labor we find in both fields. Not only does Dhanda prove that he understands how both science and business really work (something that I have found few people writing in the field of bioethics have any knowledge of), but he also does a remarkable job of clearly framing the issues confronting the fields today. Guiding Icarus is a book that, while offering insights and wisdom to anyone interested in the general realm of industry, philosophy, and ethics, is particularly recommended to anyone working in biotechnology. Executives in the industry ignore this insightful, indispensable work at their peril.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Recommended Book, January 28, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Guiding Icarus: Merging Bioethics with Corporate Interests (Paperback)

"Dhanda applies a case study approach to four timely topics: genetically modified foods, DNA databanking, personalized medicine, and stem cell research. In each case, Dhanda gives a very basic review of the science, discusses the potential benefits of the technology and the ethical issues, and then uses prominent corporate examples to raise relevant issues and draw lessons." (JAMA, January 22/29, 2003-Vol 289, No. 4)

2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and Useful, May 1, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Guiding Icarus: Merging Bioethics with Corporate Interests (Paperback)

"...an interesting and useful resource for any industry insider..." (Chemistry & Industry)