Health agencies are looking to artemisinin, a new drug derived from sweet wormwood isolated by Chinese scientists to ?ght malaria. Used in combination with other drugs, it can be a powerful treatment. But 18 companies from around the world make artemisi- nin in a one-drug form that can be sold cheaply to the developing world where people with fevers often buy drugs without knowing for sure they have malaria.
Fearing misuse would create an incurable strain of malaria, the World Health Organization demanded companies stop selling the drug in its monotherapy form. What ethical issues arise here?