Conflict Rules for Scientists Are Scrapped

The National Institutes of Health is scrapping proposed conflict-of-interest guidelines that stirred controversy among scientists and will draft new options, officials said Friday.

The guidelines proposed for the federal research agency last September were an attempt to ensure the integrity of government-funded projects by preventing researchers from having a financial interest in the outcome of their work.

But many scientists said that the proposal would hamper efforts to turn academic research into commercial products and could cost the United States its competitive edge in biomedical research.

The proposal suggested that grant recipients disclose their financial interests, as well as those of their families, and said government-funded researchers should have no equity interest in any company that would benefit from their research.

In addition, it proposed barring researchers from sharing information with companies until it is publicly available.

The agency received more than 600 comments on the proposal, spokeswoman Ann Thomas said.

Dr. Louis W. Sullivan, secretary of health and human services, said Friday that he has asked the National Institutes of Health to submit to him new options “that properly treat potential abuse while keeping the research process free of unnecessary burdens and disincentives.”

“While there is a crucial need to protect against possible abuses in the research system, it is also important that we not impose on our scientific community regulatory burdens which may be unnecessary or counterproductive,” Sullivan said.

“Likewise, it is important that we not unnecessarily jeopardize the international leadership position we have built up through years of cooperative government and private investment,” he said.

Sullivan said any changes will be implemented through the formal regulatory process, rather than as guidelines, as the original proposal suggested.