A remedy for false COVID-19 cures?

Dr Christopher Rudge and Professor Megan Munsie of the Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience unpack the secondary threat to consumers that has emerged during the Coronavirus outbreak - unproven COVID-19 ‘treatments’.

In an effort to understand the complexities of advertising regulations and restricted representation in the context of a global outbreak, the School of Biomedical Sciences’ Dr Christopher Rudge and Professor Megan Munsie dig deeper and evaluate Australia’s policing of non-compliant advertising.

Woman waiting for a train wearing a mask and gloves

Dr Christopher Rudge is a postdoctoral research fellow from the Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience within the School of Biomedical Sciences. Chris researches medical law and the social science and history of innovative health technologies. He has published research on the legal frameworks regulating stem cell interventions in Australia and internationally.

Professor Megan Munsie is the Deputy Director of the University of Melbourne’s Centre for Stem Cell Systems in the School of Biomedical Sciences where she heads the Munsie Laboratory. The broad aim of this research group is to improve understanding of the ethical, legal and social implications of stem cell research. As a trained developmental biologist, Megan combines her scientific expertise with a deep understanding of the ethical and regulatory considerations required to facilitate responsible research in stem cell science and its clinical translation.

In the article published in the University of Melbourne’s Pursuit, Dr Rudge and Professor Munsie discuss the Therapeutic Goods Administration’s (TGA) regulatory clout, restricted representations in advertising, and they provide a critique of the TGA’s response in the wake of the global pandemic.

Read the full article in Pursuit

More Information

Prof Megan Munsie

megan.munsie@unimelb.edu.au