NIH to Ban Deals With Drug Firms

[Rose Siding]

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.
...
Full details of the new and restrictive rules were held tightly on Monday by NIH officials. Those familiar with the changes, speaking on a condition of anonymity, provided these particulars:

All NIH scientists will be prohibited from accepting consulting fees, speaking fees and any other form of income from all biomedical companies, professional societies and other outside entities. The scientists must sell or otherwise dispose of any stock or stock options they hold in individual pharmaceutical or biotechnology firms.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-nih1feb01,0,5059199.story?coll=la-home-headlines

[Quakerfriend]

1. Well, it is about time.

When I worked for the NIH at the UPENN Gen'l Clinical Research Center
this practice was in full swing and, I believe that the recent need to removal Vioxx and other cox-2 inhibitors from the market might never have come about if the principle investigators who helped Merck et al. RUSH these products to market (for lucrative $$ from the drug Cos.) had been held to these standards, at the time.

Sadly, I know that many who participated in this research knew how unethical the system had become.

[hector459]

3. No, it's about DAMN time!!

This should have happend 30 years ago!

[hector459]

4. Sadly, the Clinton administration had been warned by many whistleblowers

and many insiders about what was going on and chose to ignore the complaints (Shalala) because so many "buddies" who worked at NIH were involved. Clinton was afraid to touch what has become to be known as the "third rail" of Executive agency components. NIH has always managed to work under the radar. If I have to give crdeit to the Bush administration for anything good, this would be it. But the proof is in the pudding. They always manage to come up with a loop-hole and a way around the rules. Let's wait and see. A good journalist would be able to follow this and keep tabs on the implementation and ENFORCEMENT of these new rules. Most of the rule underwhich NIH operates are implemented (regs issues, rules, procedures etc.) but never ENFORCED!

[Fridays Child]

2. All I can say is that NIH must be very independent from the B*sh regime...

...if true, ethical reforms are being implemented.

[hector459]

5. Anybody out there still working for NIH? Care to comment?

I used to work there so I am just curious.

[hector459]

7. Kick for the NIHers who leave work early.

:smile:

[PA Democrat]

6. The FDA also needs to do this

The FDA and NIH are two separate entities, aren't they? Anyone know for sure?

[leesa]

8. Bout damn time! Now to stop the buying of physicians and the misleading

ads on teevee.