Internacionalização, ciência e saúde: A medicina regenerativa global e os mercados paralelos

Abstract

Regenerative medicine involves a paradigm change due to organism regeneration at cellular and tissue level – a controversial contemporary issue and difficult to regulate. This article presents a summary of the main scientific, economic, social and regulatory global trends, analyzed according to relevant theoretical dilemmas in medical anthropology and in the sociology of science and health. This is especially true of the construction of a ‘collective frame of reference’ on the new biological and ontological entities, the shaping of biological citizenship, and governance through uncertainty. Empirical evidence is also presented on a key aspect in regulation and governance, namely the emergence of a new transnational demand in health research through the establishment of parallel markets for ova and experimental cellular therapies. Qualitative data collected for a broader research paper is analyzed, as well as journal reviews and information gathered during interviews with international leaders. The paper concludes with a discussion on the importance on international governance of clinical trials and on further exploration, towards a multilevel harmonization of a diversity of normative practices.