Trust and Integrity in Biomedical Research: The Case of Financial Conflicts of Interest

by Thomas H. Murray, Josephine Johnston

Overview

Highly Commended in the Basis of Medicine, 2011 BMA Medical Book Awards. British Medical Association

News of financial entanglements among biomedical companies and researchers has increasingly called into question the worth and integrity of medical studies, nearly three-fifths of which are funded by industry. This volume assesses the ethical, quantitative, and qualitative questions posed by the current financing of biomedical research.

The ten essays collected here reflect the wide range of opinions about perceived financial conflicts of interest in medical studies. The opening section provides an overview of the issue, describing the origins of, and concerns raised by, dubious financial arrangements; explaining how certain common situations intensify problematic funding structures; weighing the risks and benefits of commercialized research funding; and detailing the nature, extent, and consequences of the present relationship among academe, government, and industry in the health sciences. The second section compares how the idea of conflicts of interest differs in biomedical research, legal work, and journalism. It includes a challenging look at the term itself and an argument for managed financial incentives. The final section describes and analyzes the existing regulatory regime, poses questions and directions for future self and external regulation, and provides perspectives from a third-party research company.

This considered, balanced discussion will interest scholars of bioethics, public health, and health policy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801896262
Publisher:	Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date:	09/01/2010
Series:	Bioethics
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	1,007,174
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Thomas H. Murray is president of the Hastings Center.

Josephine Johnston is the director of research operations and a research scholar at The Hastings Center. She has published a number of bioethics-related scholarly articles.

Table of Contents

Preface
List of Contributors
Part I: Meaning and Context
Chapter 1. Financial Conflicts of Interest in Biomedical Research
Chapter 2. Conflicts between Commercial and Scientific Roles in Academic Health Research
Chapter 3. From Conflict to Confluence of Interest: The Coevolution of Academic Entrepreneurship and Intellectual Property Rights
Chapter 4. Ties That Bind: Relationships among Academia, Industry, and Government in Life Sciences Research
Part II: Learning from Other Fields
Chapter 5. Conflict of Interest in Financial Services: A Contractual Risk-Management Analysis
Chapter 6. The Law and Ethics of Lawyers' Conflict of Interest
Chapter 7. Sustaining Credibility in a Context of Conflicts: The Challenge for Journalism
Chapter 8. Some Principles Require Principals: Why Banning "Conflicts of Interest" Won't Solve Incentive Problems in Biomedical Research
Part III: Management Today and in the Future
Chapter 9. Current Regulations, Comparison of Guidelines, and Considerations for Policy Development
Chapter 10. Financial Conflicts of Interest in Research with Human Subjects: A Clinical Research Organization's Perspective
Index