Points to Consider Regarding Conflicts of Interest in Medical Research

Although observers have been arguing for many years that conflicts of interest in medical research hurt patient care and diminish research integrity, the issue has lately become particularly salient to policy makers, researchers, institutions, and other stakeholders. The result is an environment with increased suspicion about the relationships between industry, research institutions, and physicians and greater regulation of these relationships.

The Bioethics Committee of the Board of Directors of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) has developed the following Points to Consider to provide a decisionmaking framework for BIO policy committees and to articulate general principles regarding conflict of interest issues.

(Board Standing Committee on Bioethics, June 12, 2009) (106 KB PDF) [2]