Moral reasoning

Read the following news items and answer the questions: “GlaxoSmithKline to pay $3bn in US drug fraud scandal” http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/03/business/glaxosmithkline-agrees-to-pay-3-billion-in-fraud-settlement.html?_r=0 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-18673220 http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Drugs/off-label-drug-marketing-free-speech-court-rules/story?id=17883930 Information about off-label prescribing and marketing: http://www.nps.org.au/media-centre/media-releases/repository/Off-label-prescribing-what-does-it-mean http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=20732 1. What are the main ethical issues raised by GlaxoSmithKline’s decision to promote and market drugs for unapproved uses? Do you think that such practices are morally permissible or unethical? Provide detailed reasons to support your conclusions. 2. Do you think it was morally acceptable for GlaxoSmithKline not to release relevant research data and to make unsupported safety claims for one of its diabetes drugs? Is there a moral difference between merely failing to provide relevant information and actively making false claims about the safety of a drug? Give reasons for your answer. 3. GSK’s activities were found to be illegal. Would it make a difference to your assessment of the case if such activities were not against the law? Why/Why not?