WASHINGTON--Current government efforts to prevent financial conflicts of interest among clinical investigators appear to ignore an obscure but well-funded federal program that operates with few safeguards against such potential abuse by researchers. And some scientists think that omission could be a costly mistake.
Officials at the National Institutes of Health have just finished work on proposed rules for the biomedical community that are meant to balance the government's desire to turn basic research into commercial products against society's growing concern about the integrity of those who perform that research.
WASHINGTON--The Bush administration is unlikely to endorse any conflict of interest regulations that require clinical scientists to do anything more than disclose financial holdings in the companies whose products they are evaluating, according to White House officials. National Institutes of Health administrators have recently completed work on proposed guidelines that suggest a more stringent policy, and are awaiting approval from the ...
