By David Tuller, DrPH
It’s déjà vu all over again in Norway with the Lightning Process (LP). Earlier this month, a national research ethics authority, NEM, postponed a decision on a proposed LP trial until at least June. The trial has already been approved by a regional committee. The NEM had been expected to decide at its May meeting but did not.
This is the second go-round for this saga. Last year, a previous and also inadequate trial proposal was approved at the regional level but rejected by NEM—and after a similar delay from the expected decision date till a subsequent meeting. At that point, NEM determined that the proposed trial was fraught with conflicts of interest and potential bias. However, this year’s designated committee has new members who might assess the project differently, despite its ongoing deficiencies.