NIH finally takes on conflicts

After several months of intense scrutiny, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is considering stricter rules on managing financial conflicts among its grantees. The research and funding body put out a call for comments on changing the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) conflict of interest rules via an linkurl:entry;http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/pdf/E9-10666.pdf in the Federal Register on Friday (May 8). The rules under consideration would involve all applicants for funding from the Public Health Service (PHS), of which the NIH is a component. Other agencies under the PHS umbrella include the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Indian Health Service. The regulation changes the NIH is considering include expanding disclosure rules to applicants seeking PHS funding through the government's Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer Programs, and mandating that all funding applicants disclose all significant financial conflicts instead of disclosing only...