NIH to Ban Deals With Drug Firms (ethics)

[papau]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-nih1feb01.story
NIH to Ban Deals With Drug Firms (ethics)
Federal researchers will no longer be able to accept fees to consult for companies, officials say. The lucrative pacts have sparked ethics probes.
By David Willman
Times Staff Writer

February 1, 2005

WASHINGTON — Under a far-reaching reform to be announced today, all staff scientists at the National Institutes of Health will be banned from accepting any consulting fees or other income from drug companies, and the employees must also divest industry stock holdings, officials said.

The new regulations — drawn up by administrators from the NIH, the Office of Government Ethics and the Department of Health and Human Services — are aimed at halting lucrative deals that have led to conflict-of-interest inquiries at the government's premier agency for medical research.

The changes exceed the partial and temporary curbs on outside income proposed earlier by the NIH director, Dr. Elias A. Zerhouni. Although the new rules could be reassessed after one year, officials familiar with the matter said they viewed the changes as permanent.

For the last decade, government scientists at the NIH have quietly been allowed to consult for biomedical companies under policies that defenders have said helped attract talented personnel to the agency. Hundreds of scientists took millions of dollars in fees and stock from industry. Most of the payments were hidden from public view, raising questions about the scientists' impartiality in overseeing clinical trials and in making recommendations to doctors for treating patients.<snip>

[Warpy]

1. Yeah, I'll believe it when I see those licensing fees

for breakthrough drugs developed under NIH grants go up. Right now, they're token payments, while the drug companies who get the license and the patent often rake in a billion dollars (that's billion) over the life of the patent.

[AllyCat]

2. I have been living under a rock

I didn't even know they were allowed to do this! Complete conflict of interest. Boo hoo that they can't attract the "best and the brightest" without unethical kickbacks. Why don't they let these people do their jobs without putting them into the "agenda"? Then maybe they'll feel some autonomy and pride in their work, the American people will get an NIH that works for them, and everyone will be happy? Oh wait, the drug companies won't be happy...

[Sgent]

3. No actually they won't

One of my best friends just finished his Ph.D. in medicinal chemistry from a top 5 research program. Not a single person in his class is going to work for the government (many had offers), nor have any gone in the last 5 years.

Why? Because the government pays 80-100k. Working for a independent OR for a university on tenure track he can make 100-120k, and the top is probably 2-3 times that easily.

If the government doesn't want to allow scientists to do outside work, they either need to pay them more, or they won't have any scientists -- they will have to outsource all of their research to universities.

[AllyCat]

4. Well, the government doesn't believe in science anyway

That is really too bad. We cannot have conflicts of interest in any area, let alone health care, but how do we keep the best and brightest?

Good luck to your friend in his new job.