Quoted message said:Subject: Re: NIH to launch ethics review
From: [email hidden] (Rick)
Date: 12/11/2003 1:45 PM Pacific Standard Time
Message-id: <[email hidden]>
[email hidden] (Ilena) wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...
Quoted message said:http://www.biomedcentral.com/news/20031210/06
EXCERPT:
The Los Angeles Times on Sunday (December 7) reported that several
high-level NIH scientists and officials had received more than $2.5
million in fees and stock options from drug companies for consulting
outside of their government work over the past 10 years.
Interesting comment....
Or fact....
Quoted message said:Arthur L. Caplan,
Ooops, the part you snipped:
Stephen I. Katz, director of the National Institute of Arthritis and
Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), collected between $476,369 and
$616,365 during the past decade in fees from drugmaker Schering AG and six
other companies, the Times reported. During this time, NIAMS conducted clinical
trials involving one of the company's drugs and pledged $1.7 million in small
business research grants to another. Five other present and former senior NIH
officials reportedly received up to $2.2 million in company fees and stock
options during the time period.
Janet Austin, Katz's spokeswoman, did not respond to a request for comment
yesterday. But Katz and other officials told the Los Angeles Times that NIH
officials had approved their consulting agreements in advance and that they had
recused themselves from any decision making involving the companies.
Quoted message said:Arthur L. Caplan, director of the University of Pennsylvania's Center
Quoted message said:for Bioethics, said he was surprised that this type of outside
consulting was even permitted by the federal government. "It's a big
problem. If you work for the federal or a state government and are
making decisions about funding for key government expenditures, you
don't want to be seen as being beholden to or being able to be
influenced by outside funding arrangements," he told The Scientist.
"If you are going to distribute money from grants and if you are going
to be turned to for independent evidence about different drugs or
research ideas, which is what NIH's role is, then they've got to be a
lot more careful about generating conflicts of interest," he said.
"He writes a regular column on bioethics for MSNBC.com. He is a
frequent guest and commentator on National Public Radio, Nightline,
CNN, MSNBC, Fox, CBS, the New York Times, Washington Post,
Philadelphia Inquirer and many other media outlets."
http://www.bioethics.upenn.edu/faculty/index.php?profile=1
pot, kettle, black...this guy gets PAID by the media for STORIES that
SELL newspapers.......
rick
Now for the rest of the article:
On Monday (December 8), Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-La.), chairman of the House Energy
and Commerce Committee, and Rep. James Greenwood (R-Pa.), chairman of the
Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, asked Zerhouni to supply by
January 8, 2004, all documents relating to the payments reported by the Times.
“The receipt of outside payments, even though approved, raises concerns about
whether the integrity of NIH clinical research has been affected and whether
the honor system used by NIH to enforce recusals signed by NIH scientists and
other conflict of interest rules has been violated,†the congressmen wrote.
The House investigation is part of an ongoing ethics probe begun earlier this
year. In June, the committee announced it was investigating Richard D.
Klausner, former director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and other
current and former senior NIH officials for accepting “lecture awards†and
other cash gifts from universities and research institutions that receive NCI
and NIH research grants. Klausner and other officials have denied any
wrongdoing.
In November, the committee announced it was seeking to determine whether
Klausner steered a $40 million contract to Harvard University during the time
he was a candidate to become the school's president. Klausner, who is currently
director of the Global Health Program at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
in Seattle, told The Scientist at the time that the committee's allegations
were “bizarre†and “baseless.â€
Burklow yesterday said it is important that NIH scientists “stay involved in
the science and help communities beyond NIH to share their information broadly.
At the same time, we recognize that there must be stringent standards and
transparent policies for managing potential conflicts of interest,†he said.
“In addition, we must do everything possible to avoid even the perception of
a conflict because the appearance can be as important as the legal
technicalities,†Burklow added.
