The Mater hospital in Dublin is to proceed with clinical trials of a new lung cancer treatment which was delayed at the beginning of the month over concerns that women availing of the treatment had to use contraception in breach of the hospital's ethos.
"The Board of Directors of the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital has determined that the clinical trial of the lung cancer treatment Tarceva will proceed," a statement released tonight said.
Recruitment of participants for the trial, already underway at Tallaght and Beaumont Hospitals, well begin immediately.
The hospital's ethics committee came under fire at the start of October after a controversial decision to defer the Tarceva trials because, it said, the leaflet for the trial conflicted with the hospital's ethos as it required women who wished to participate to use contraception.
At the beginning of October, the Mater issued a statement which said the "absolute requirement" of some pharmaceutical companies that women of childbearing age must use contraceptives during trials "is not supported by our ethos".
"The hospital believes that individuals and couples, following their own informed conscience and guided by medical advice, have the right to decide how they will go about avoiding pregnancy," it continued.
The statement added the hospital was redeveloping its existing consent procedures to ensure patients were fully informed of the issues.
However, tonight the Mater's Board of Directors decided that no supplemental information would be required to be given to patients embarking on the trial. "The Board has further determined that it is not required to provide additional information to intending participants in the trial."
