Saturday, July 22, 2006
Many doctors are paid consultants for investment firms.
THE SEATTLE TIMES
SEATTLE -- The nation's largest coalition of research scientists has released new ethics guidelines for working with for-profit companies, including a recommendation that scientists not leak inside information about drug studies to investment firms.
The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, which represents 84,000 researchers, released its report last week after more than a year of effort. The report touches on familiar themes in potential conflicts of interest between academia and industry.
It says collaboration of the two worlds is necessary to advance science, but academics must make sure that industrial relationships do not bias the science. It generally favors policing through self-regulation.
The specific warning to scientists about consulting with investment firms comes nearly a year after an investigative report in The Seattle Times drew national attention to the issue.
Conflict of interest
The Seattle Times found 26 cases in which doctors leaked confidential information about drug trials to investment firms looking for an edge in the market. Some doctors were paid $1,000 an hour or more as consultants by the firms.
The federation's report said that scientists "should not engage in premature communication" of nonpublic information with investment firms. It also advocates for greater disclosure, stating, "When investigators have consulting relationships with investment firms related to their area of expertise, all parties shall be aware of the specific circumstances involved."
Dr. Leo Furcht, president of the federation, and head of lab medicine and pathology at the University of Minnesota Medical School, said the committee determined that scientists are often naive and need to be more aware they risk breaking federal insider-trading laws when talking with investors.