Re-examining medical modernization: framing the public in Finnish biomedical research policy

Abstract

Despite recent evidence that suggests that knowledge production within the medical community is increasingly based on knowledge-making coalitions or what some have called the co-production of knowledge, there remains a strong expert led policy agenda in many countries in relation to human genome research. This article reports on the role of experts in defining the scope of discussion in relation to the biomedical use of human tissue sample collections or biobanks in Finland using the case of the Genome Information Center. It is argued that the rhetorical strategies should not be understood simply as subversive tactics, but rather as ways of engaging the public within particular contexts of creating commercial expectations and visions which are easier to negotiate from a policy perspective.