Conflict-of-Interest.net

ACFAS Montreal: COI in veterinary medicine?

Bryn Williams-Jones — Fri, 04 May 2012 06:21:46 +0000

For those in Montreal next week for the ACFAS conference (Palais de congres, May 7-12), I’d recommend catching a presentation by my student Charles Marsan, entitled “Des conflits d’intérêts en médecine vétérinaire?” (May 7, 9am, 523A). Here’s the video.

Charles did a dry run of his presentation last week at an internal team workshop, and did an excellent job in spelling out why COI is an understudied by incredibly important issue of the practice of veterinary medicine.

Good faith and identifying potential COI

Bryn Williams-Jones — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 15:13:56 +0000

The following story — Conflict of interest policy shifts responsibility to U. — caught my attention. With a change of policy by the NIH, faculty at US universities are now required to declare to their institution, financial interests of more than $5000, so any COI can be managed. What is interesting, though, is not the financial threshold (which as I’ve noted in the past, is problematic), but the ongoing problem of identifying when there is a COI, and who should be responsible for such determinations.

As noted in the article,

“People do have conflicts of interest, and it’s not the end of the world,” said Janet Blume, associate dean of the faculty. All Brown professors are required to file a conflict of interest form with the University every year, now listing potential conflicts of interest amounting to $5,000 or more.

All well and good, but what financial sources fit into this requirement? Is it just direct contracts from industry, or can other funders create financial COI that should be declared, and then managed? If so, how are professors, acting in good faith, to know? What is their responsibility to do “due diligence” and investigate all sources of potential funding?

Professor of Economics Ross Levine offered an example of the complexities of conflict of interest in research funding. Levine received a $30,000 grant from the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation for research he is conducting on changes in competitive banking policies in 2009. The Koch brothers, founders of a group of charities that have given hundreds of millions of dollars to conservative organizations and causes, contacted Levine around 2006 after visiting campus, Levine said. They expressed interest in his research, which seeks to understand implications of increased competition among banks in the 1970s and 80s in terms of economic growth, distribution of income and racial discrimination, he said.

…

None of the money from the Koch brothers is personally benefiting Levine, he said. The money has been allocated to hiring research assistants through an account Brown set up for Levine’s research. Levine has also used funding from several other sources to hire graduate and undergraduate students to assist on the same research, he said.

…

Levine said he is “uncomfortable” with the fact he did not know about the Koch brothers’ politics before accepting their grant. “I wish this wasn’t the case,” he said. He said he acknowledges the Koch brothers as a funding source on all papers related to the research, because “it’s the reality.” At the same time, he said he recognizes the complexity of questions surrounding the ethics of accepting funds from outside sources. “I can’t be responsible for screening all of the money that comes to Brown that somehow affects my research, because it comes from such a huge number of sources,” he said.

The Case of Dr. B: Responding to “Toward a Sociology of Conflict of Interest in Medical Research”

Bryn Williams-Jones — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 14:11:22 +0000

An interesting case study in the Journal of Bioethical Inquiry, by Sarah Winch and Michael Sinnott, entitled “Toward a Sociology of Conflict of Interest in Medical Research“, inspired three members of my team and I to write responses, which have just been published in the same journal. The case of Dr B is an interesting exploration of the challenges facing researchers who, in good faith, try to identify and manage COI, but encounter significant difficulties when they don’t have the necessary knowledge and institutional support.

Smith, E. (in press) “Towards a postmodernist view of conflict of interest” Journal of Bioethical Inquiry. (Online First: March 20 2012)
Mathieu, G. & Williams-Jones, B. (in press) “Managing Conflicts of Interest Should Begin with Dialogue and Education, not Punitive Measures” Journal of Bioethical Inquiry. (Online First: March 20 2012)
Potvin, M.-J. (in press) “The Strange case of Dr B and Mr Hide: Ethical sensitivity as a means to reflect upon one’s actions in managing COI” Journal of Bioethical Inquiry. (Online First: March 2o 2012)

Counting the costs

Bryn Williams-Jones — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 10:34:29 +0000

Chris MacDonald at the Business Ethics Blog has an interesting analysis on the costs of COI, and in particular, why its problematic not only being in a COI, but putting someone else in a COI: The True Cost of Conflict of Interest

News roundup – Jan/Feb

Bryn Williams-Jones — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 17:32:49 +0000

Having started the first 6mths of my sabbatical in January, I’ve been busy catching up on work while taking care of my 1yr old son at home (a joy!), so my COI news stories and analyses have been piling up. Mea culpa. Here’re some stories that caught my eye in Jan and Feb.

US FDA and over the counter contraceptives

Bayer FDA YAZ Conflict of Interest Concern Mounts – InjuryBoard Blognetwork
Concerns Mount Over FDA Yaz Panel Conflict of Interest Reports – OpenPress
Conflict of Interest Strikes Again at the FDA – JDSupra

Researcher/Science independence & expertise

SIEPR talks conflict of interest policy – Stanford Daily
No need to loosen conflict rules, U.S. FDA head says – Reuters
Psychiatrist embroiled in conflict-of-interest row – ABC Newcastle
Climate Conflict of Interest? – The Scientist
Greenpeace Flags Potential Conflict of Interest at DOE, DOI – National Journal

Independent counsel

Hospital-recommended lawyers: A conflict of interest? – FierceHealthcare

The Limits of Disclosure

Conflict of interest disclosure is not all sunshine – American Council on Science and Health
Conflict Of Interest Not Necessarily A Problem – DukeToday
Conflict of interest disclosure ‘no panacea’ - Yale Daily News