Ethics and Innovation: A Look at Biotechnology

Man is constantly gaining knowledge and improving his way of life. The popular phrase necessity is the mother of invention is validated when we look back and examine man\u27s many inventions. We could go on and on listing various inventions and innovations that have greatly impacted our way of life. Invention and innovation continues even today and the challenge is to effectively manage these new developments and ensure they achieve their full potential and continue to· serve mankind. However, as innovations continue to come forth, the aspect of gaining monetary value from these innovations has become predominant. So much so, that the issue of ethics has become an inevitable one in the world today. Innovators and inventors have to address this issue in addition to their corporate strategies. This paper considers the role of ethics in the innovation process of the biotechnology industry. Innovators in this industry have to spend a lot of their time making their innovations acceptable to the customer within an ethical framework. How do they go about this? What is the nature of the issues or problems they encounter? What considerations should innovators make when coming up with new products? Should they shelve their inventions purely because society will not accept them