Drugmaker Payments to Scientists Face New Disclosure Controls- Bloomberg

[Guest guest]

http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-23/drugmaker-payments-to-scientists-fac\

e-new-disclosure-controls.html

Drugmaker Payments to Scientists Face New Disclosure Controls

By Drew Armstrong and Wayne

August 23, 2011 12:04 EDT

Click 'Queue' to read later

New rules requiring research institutions such as Harvard University to identify

potential conflicts between scientists and drugmakers don’t require the

connections to be immediately made public.

Senator Grassley, an Iowa Republican, last year tried to force

institutions to detail industry ties and post them to the Internet. Instead, the

rules give the schools an option to disclose ties on a request-only basis.

“They’re going to have to disclose the money now but they’re not going to

have to make it publicly available on a website,†said Thacker, an

investigator for the Project on Government Oversight in Washington and former

aide to Grassley.

The rules require research institutions to identify the potential conflicts and

give them the choice of setting up a website detailing the information. The

schools now only are required to identify conflicts and address them, not

disclose them, according to the regulation.

The rules are a step in the right direction, said National Institutes of Health

Director Francis .

“This is a significant change and one that will further strengthen the

integrity of the really remarkable scientific community that has been conducting

research with, for the most part, the highest ethical standards,†said

on a conference call with reporters.

Offering Flexibility

The government decided to give research institutions a choice about disclosure,

said Sally Rockey, director of extramural research for the institutes, said. The

option of posting to a website or responding to a request “allows the

institution maximum flexibility to decide which is the least burdensome way to

achieve this,†she said.

“Some organizations may not have a website,†Rockey said.

The NIH, in Bethesda, land, has a $31 billion budget this year, 80 percent

of which goes to outside researchers.

The public disclosures are designed to cover any payments from drug,

biotechnology or device companies and require the research body to list the

amounts the researchers have been paid, in categories from $0 to $4,999; $5,000

to $9,999; and broader amounts above $10,000.

The government said in the regulation that the new rules were necessary as the

pace of research has sped up since the 1995 guidelines, as had the financial

ties between researchers and companies funding their work.

Pfizer Inc. (PFE), based in New York, and Merck Inc., in Whitehouse Station, New

Jersey, already disclose payments to physicians involved in marketing and

education efforts.

To contact the reporter on this story: Drew Armstrong in Washington at

darmstrong17@...;

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Adriel Bettelheim at

abettelheim@...

Sent via BlackBerry by AT & T

[Guest guest]

http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-23/drugmaker-payments-to-scientists-fac\

e-new-disclosure-controls.html

Drugmaker Payments to Scientists Face New Disclosure Controls

By Drew Armstrong and Wayne

August 23, 2011 12:04 EDT

Click 'Queue' to read later

New rules requiring research institutions such as Harvard University to identify

potential conflicts between scientists and drugmakers don’t require the

connections to be immediately made public.

Senator Grassley, an Iowa Republican, last year tried to force

institutions to detail industry ties and post them to the Internet. Instead, the

rules give the schools an option to disclose ties on a request-only basis.

“They’re going to have to disclose the money now but they’re not going to

have to make it publicly available on a website,†said Thacker, an

investigator for the Project on Government Oversight in Washington and former

aide to Grassley.

The rules require research institutions to identify the potential conflicts and

give them the choice of setting up a website detailing the information. The

schools now only are required to identify conflicts and address them, not

disclose them, according to the regulation.

The rules are a step in the right direction, said National Institutes of Health

Director Francis .

“This is a significant change and one that will further strengthen the

integrity of the really remarkable scientific community that has been conducting

research with, for the most part, the highest ethical standards,†said

on a conference call with reporters.

Offering Flexibility

The government decided to give research institutions a choice about disclosure,

said Sally Rockey, director of extramural research for the institutes, said. The

option of posting to a website or responding to a request “allows the

institution maximum flexibility to decide which is the least burdensome way to

achieve this,†she said.

“Some organizations may not have a website,†Rockey said.

The NIH, in Bethesda, land, has a $31 billion budget this year, 80 percent

of which goes to outside researchers.

The public disclosures are designed to cover any payments from drug,

biotechnology or device companies and require the research body to list the

amounts the researchers have been paid, in categories from $0 to $4,999; $5,000

to $9,999; and broader amounts above $10,000.

The government said in the regulation that the new rules were necessary as the

pace of research has sped up since the 1995 guidelines, as had the financial

ties between researchers and companies funding their work.

Pfizer Inc. (PFE), based in New York, and Merck Inc., in Whitehouse Station, New

Jersey, already disclose payments to physicians involved in marketing and

education efforts.

To contact the reporter on this story: Drew Armstrong in Washington at

darmstrong17@...;

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Adriel Bettelheim at

abettelheim@...

Sent via BlackBerry by AT & T

[Guest guest]

http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-23/drugmaker-payments-to-scientists-fac\

e-new-disclosure-controls.html

Drugmaker Payments to Scientists Face New Disclosure Controls

By Drew Armstrong and Wayne

August 23, 2011 12:04 EDT

Click 'Queue' to read later

New rules requiring research institutions such as Harvard University to identify

potential conflicts between scientists and drugmakers don’t require the

connections to be immediately made public.

Senator Grassley, an Iowa Republican, last year tried to force

institutions to detail industry ties and post them to the Internet. Instead, the

rules give the schools an option to disclose ties on a request-only basis.

“They’re going to have to disclose the money now but they’re not going to

have to make it publicly available on a website,†said Thacker, an

investigator for the Project on Government Oversight in Washington and former

aide to Grassley.

The rules require research institutions to identify the potential conflicts and

give them the choice of setting up a website detailing the information. The

schools now only are required to identify conflicts and address them, not

disclose them, according to the regulation.

The rules are a step in the right direction, said National Institutes of Health

Director Francis .

“This is a significant change and one that will further strengthen the

integrity of the really remarkable scientific community that has been conducting

research with, for the most part, the highest ethical standards,†said

on a conference call with reporters.

Offering Flexibility

The government decided to give research institutions a choice about disclosure,

said Sally Rockey, director of extramural research for the institutes, said. The

option of posting to a website or responding to a request “allows the

institution maximum flexibility to decide which is the least burdensome way to

achieve this,†she said.

“Some organizations may not have a website,†Rockey said.

The NIH, in Bethesda, land, has a $31 billion budget this year, 80 percent

of which goes to outside researchers.

The public disclosures are designed to cover any payments from drug,

biotechnology or device companies and require the research body to list the

amounts the researchers have been paid, in categories from $0 to $4,999; $5,000

to $9,999; and broader amounts above $10,000.

The government said in the regulation that the new rules were necessary as the

pace of research has sped up since the 1995 guidelines, as had the financial

ties between researchers and companies funding their work.

Pfizer Inc. (PFE), based in New York, and Merck Inc., in Whitehouse Station, New

Jersey, already disclose payments to physicians involved in marketing and

education efforts.

To contact the reporter on this story: Drew Armstrong in Washington at

darmstrong17@...;

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Adriel Bettelheim at

abettelheim@...

Sent via BlackBerry by AT & T

[Guest guest]

http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-23/drugmaker-payments-to-scientists-fac\

e-new-disclosure-controls.html

Drugmaker Payments to Scientists Face New Disclosure Controls

By Drew Armstrong and Wayne

August 23, 2011 12:04 EDT

Click 'Queue' to read later

New rules requiring research institutions such as Harvard University to identify

potential conflicts between scientists and drugmakers don’t require the

connections to be immediately made public.

Senator Grassley, an Iowa Republican, last year tried to force

institutions to detail industry ties and post them to the Internet. Instead, the

rules give the schools an option to disclose ties on a request-only basis.

“They’re going to have to disclose the money now but they’re not going to

have to make it publicly available on a website,†said Thacker, an

investigator for the Project on Government Oversight in Washington and former

aide to Grassley.

The rules require research institutions to identify the potential conflicts and

give them the choice of setting up a website detailing the information. The

schools now only are required to identify conflicts and address them, not

disclose them, according to the regulation.

The rules are a step in the right direction, said National Institutes of Health

Director Francis .

“This is a significant change and one that will further strengthen the

integrity of the really remarkable scientific community that has been conducting

research with, for the most part, the highest ethical standards,†said

on a conference call with reporters.

Offering Flexibility

The government decided to give research institutions a choice about disclosure,

said Sally Rockey, director of extramural research for the institutes, said. The

option of posting to a website or responding to a request “allows the

institution maximum flexibility to decide which is the least burdensome way to

achieve this,†she said.

“Some organizations may not have a website,†Rockey said.

The NIH, in Bethesda, land, has a $31 billion budget this year, 80 percent

of which goes to outside researchers.

The public disclosures are designed to cover any payments from drug,

biotechnology or device companies and require the research body to list the

amounts the researchers have been paid, in categories from $0 to $4,999; $5,000

to $9,999; and broader amounts above $10,000.

The government said in the regulation that the new rules were necessary as the

pace of research has sped up since the 1995 guidelines, as had the financial

ties between researchers and companies funding their work.

Pfizer Inc. (PFE), based in New York, and Merck Inc., in Whitehouse Station, New

Jersey, already disclose payments to physicians involved in marketing and

education efforts.

To contact the reporter on this story: Drew Armstrong in Washington at

darmstrong17@...;

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Adriel Bettelheim at

abettelheim@...

Sent via BlackBerry by AT & T