Principles, Practice & Ethics

Insulin and SGLT2 proteins are on the WHO world wide list of essential medications[figure out how to insert reference thingy to Zotero here] and GLP-1 antagonists have been suggested for addition. [insert reference here]This rose to worldwide attention during the sars-cov2 pandemic because of sudden shock to worldwide supply chains. With even things like injection syringes becoming in critical supply, a small group of friends and I began discussing a project should the worst come to worst, I called “project keep Andy alive” based on this paper[yet another Zotero reference to figure out, Help!]

I have to admit, coming entirely from the biohacking side of self education in molecular biology, the concept of ethics is rather foreign to me. Similar to the 1980’s genre computer hackers, where every poorly secured mainframe and network was our playground my concept of ethics in biology is similar to my 1980s computer ethics which concentrated on “don't get arrested, don’t create attention thus getting booted off the mainframe and our precious backdoors filled in”. So I look forward to a richer knowledge base in this area of biology as biohacking matures just as computer hacking did for me in the 1990’s into a job in information technology.

so having only a rudimentary awareness in this area, I.E “don't dump your GMO critters down the drain”, some notions of what might be a good process come to mind in the production of essential medications within yeast cells.

  1. Regulate the production and purification process: Implement regulations and standards that govern the production of essential medications using yeast cells and under what circumstances its acceptable to switch to this method.
  2. Monitor the emergency growing kit production facilities: Regularly inspect production facilities to ensure that they meet the required standards and are following the regulations.
  3. Train end users: Ensure that end users of the emergency production kits are trained in the best practices for handling yeast cells and producing the proteins.
  4. Implement strict production culture biosafety protocols: Establish strict biosafety protocols to minimize the risk of yeast cells escaping into the environment and communicate these to end users
  5. Conduct risk assessments: Regularly conduct risk assessments to identify potential hazards and take measures to minimize them.
  6. Monitor for contamination: Produce the means for the end user to monitor for contamination of the yeast cells and the final product to ensure that they meet the required standards for purity and safety.
  7. Dispose of waste properly: Ensure that any waste generated during the production process is disposed of properly to minimize the risk of harm to the environment.
  8. Develop secure storage: Implement secure storage measures to prevent unauthorized access to yeast cells or the final product. Perhaps a “break in case of emergency” type system that flags its use to the producer of the kits.
  9. Promote transparency: Promote transparency in the production process by making information about the production process and the emergency production kits publicly available.
  10. Educate the public: Educate the public about the benefits and risks of using yeast cells to produce essential drug proteins
  11. Encourage international cooperation: Encourage international cooperation and collaboration to ensure that standards and regulations are consistent across borders.
  12. Develop incident response plans: Develop incident response plans in the event of a biosafety breach or other emergency.
  13. Regularly review and update policies: Regularly review and update policies and procedures to ensure that they are consistent with best practices and evolving regulations.
  14. Foster a culture of responsibility: Foster a culture of responsibility among all stakeholders involved in the production process, including end users, regulators, and the scientific community.