Synthetic biology raises the possibility that pathogenic bioweapons could be designed, developed, and deployed in new ways that diverge from the disease-causing characteristics of naturally occurring pathogens (NAS 2018). Traditionally, only known pathogens found naturally in the environment, such as B. anthracis and Y. pestis, were developed as biological weapons because o…
To conclude, a central tenet of the VALIDATE approach is that HTA is a practice in which facts and values meet. To be able to address policy-related questions, HTA should not only provide information on the plausibility of claims on potential consequences of health technology, it should also assess the desirability of these consequences. This requires both an understanding of the te…