Kalshi Defends Clinical-Trial Betting Pilot as Critics Warn $100,000 Win Shows Ethical Risks
Updated
Updated · Futurism · Aug 5
Kalshi Defends Clinical-Trial Betting Pilot as Critics Warn $100,000 Win Shows Ethical Risks
3 articles · Updated · Futurism · Aug 5
Summary
Kalshi said its biotech prediction-market pilot would give investors and the public a continuously updated read on clinical-trial and FDA outcomes, rejecting claims that the contracts threaten research integrity.
Robert Califf, the former FDA commissioner, told the New York Times that betting on an ongoing randomized trial is a breach of scientific conduct, with critics warning negative market signals could push participants to drop out.
Patients and families described the markets as dehumanizing: metastatic pancreatic cancer patient Walter Ingaharro Jr. said "we're literally trying to stay alive," while Boston University professor Joshua Pederson said wagering against his 12-year-old son's treatment was "enraging."
The defense comes a month after Kalshi launched the pilot for cancer and Alzheimer's drug trials, and after a Trump teleprompter operator was reported to have made more than $100,000 betting on Kalshi.