Miguel Ruiz-Canela, professor at the University of Navarra, has been awarded the award 'board General del Principado de Asturias-Sociedad Internacional de Bioética (SIBI)' corresponding to 2004. This is a award organized by SIBI, with the sponsorship of the board General of the Principality of Asturias.

In this year's call for papers, the topic was to focus on 'Emerging biomedical issues: research in humans'. The degree scroll of the winning study is 'Pharmacogenomics: a new challenge for the ethics of research'.

The work exposes the ethical aspects related to pharmacogenomics, one of the most innovative areas in pharmacological research and that tries to relate the genetic profile of patients with the response to drugs. This may allow each patient to receive the safest and most effective drugs through the development of individualized medicine. At the same time, along with its potential benefits, there are questions about the risks involved.

The novelty of pharmacogenomics provides a great opportunity for reflection on its ethical and social aspects. In the award-winning work , Dr. Ruiz-Canela raises, among other issues, the risks related to the information of pharmacogenomic programs of study , the characteristics of informed consent, and the socioeconomic consequences of this research. In the final chapter, the author makes a evaluation on the future expectations of pharmacogenomics.

Margarita Salas, on the jury

The jury was formed by Marcelo Palacios (president of the SIBI Scientific committee ), Margarita Salas, Erwin Deutsch and Santiago Dexeus. In the two previous calls this award was awarded to a group of research directed by Professor Bernat Soria (2003) and to the Canadian physician Conrad V. Fernández (2002).

The award, endowed with 9,000 euros, accredits the author with a diploma and involves the edition of the winning work in Spanish and English.

Miguel Ruiz-Canela holds a PhD in Pharmacy and Associate Professor from department of Humanities Biomedical Sciences of the University of Navarra. His research work has been developed in areas related to the ethical and methodological aspects of research with human beings and with the empirical research in bioethics.