It's unfortunate that this kind of innovative idea seems to elicit a knee-jerk negative response in terms of ethics. (To the extent where even the person having the idea initially assumes it must be unethical!) Certainly it shares characteristics with unethical scenarios - a rich person buying a spot on a donor list, forcing others to wait longer for instance. But this particular idea seems to leave no one worse off, and many people considerably better off.
Of course, it would be ideal if resources were simply abundant and all these trials could be funded without giving special treatment to wealthy donors. But given that we don't live in that world, I would certainly rather see one wealthy donor and nine other individuals (for example) get access to a potentially life-saving therapy than to have them all die in the name of equality.
Of course, it would be ideal if resources were simply abundant and all these trials could be funded without giving special treatment to wealthy donors. But given that we don't live in that world, I would certainly rather see one wealthy donor and nine other individuals (for example) get access to a potentially life-saving therapy than to have them all die in the name of equality.