CAIRO — Egypt’s parliament approved Aug. 24 a bill regulating clinical medical research. The bill is known in the media as the Clinical Trials Law that regulates scientific research and subjects patients to clinical trials and research.

In May 2018, parliament had approved a bill governing clinical medical research, but President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi rejected some of its articles, including those requiring researchers and scientists to obtain prior approval from several bodies to conduct medical research and clinical trials. According to the draft law, these bodies include the Supreme Council of Universities (a governmental body), the General Intelligence Service and other oversight bodies. Sisi referred the draft law back to parliament for review in early October 2018, after it stirred controversy in the scientific and medical quarters in regard to ethics and legalities.

In a speech to parliament on Oct. 2, 2018, Sisi said, “Research includes master's, doctoral, free and funded research in the faculties of medicine and pharmaceutical sciences. That means it is impossible to follow up on these huge numbers of research studies carried out every month, only by committees in every research entity.”

Subsequently, the parliament formed Oct. 21 a special committee to consider the president's objection to the bill. The committee remained in session to amend the 19 articles subject of contention, according to the statements of its chairperson, Al-Sayyed al-Sharif to Sky News Aug. 15.