JAMA Article on Revised Conflict of Interest Requirements

JAMA. 2010;303(23):(doi:10.1001/jama.2010.774).
Managing Financial Conflict of Interest in Biomedical Research
Sally J. Rockey, PhD
Francis S. Collins, MD, PhD

AS THE NATION’S BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH AGENCY, THE National Institutes of Health (NIH) must ensure that the research it funds on the behalf of US taxpayers is scientifically rigorous and free of bias.
Over the course of more than 65 years and hundreds of thousands of awards, most researchers receiving funds from NIH have proved to be trustworthy stewards. Still, more must be done to retain, and in some instances regain, public trust in the biomedical and behavioral research enterprise. The public may not always understand the intricacies of rigorous science, but most individuals quickly grasp the concept of bias. Plain and simple, Americans do not want financial conflicts of interest (FCOI) to influence the federally funded research they hope will yield better ways to fight disease and improve health.
Managing FCOI in biomedical and behavioral research, however, can prove to be a major challenge because of the complex relationships among government, academia, and
industry. Partnerships between NIH-funded researchers and industry are often essential to the process of moving discoveries from the bench to the bedside. These relationships manifest as consultant agreements, in published works, and through a variety of other productive alliances. However, such relationships can sometimes lead to FCOI that may compromise—or appear to compromise—the integrity of research supported by NIH.
For complete article:

http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/jama.2010.774