conflict of interest news from FierceHealthcare

A Harvard child psychiatrist with a global reputation whose work has helped to promote the use of antipsychotic meds in children apparently didn't report most of the $1.6 million in drug maker Read more...

The Federal Trade Commission has let it be known that it isn't thrilled with pending legislation that could place limits on the state's growing retail clinic industry. The agency found that the bill, Read more...

In recent weeks, observers have been challenging the results of a study on an artificial Read more...

Observers are raising tough challenges to a newly-released spinal disk study that suggests an artificial spinal disk, Prodisc, works better to improve patient functioning than conventional Read more...

The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center is planning the rollout of a newly-tough conflict-of-interest policy which would greatly curtail traditional relationships between its providers and Read more...

Physician retail clinic protests miss the point
Wow, the AMA is steamed about retail clinics. In my nearly 20 years of healthcare reporting, I can't think of an issue which has gotten members more worked up and ready …

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Are pharma relationship limits curbing research?
As pressure mounts to regulate physician relationships with pharmaceutical companies, some doctor have begun to push back, arguing that there are tangible, patient-friendly benefits to such relationships. Some say that conflict-of-interest rules are making legitimate medical research difficult. Article

A University of Cincinnati researcher lured into town by a million-dollar private grant is under scrutiny by university and federal officials, dogged by charges that he failed to disclose a lucrative financial relationship with a medical device manufacturer. As a result of the controversy the researcher, Dr. Randall Wolf, has stepped down from his post as principal investigator of the heart device research program.

Dr. Wolf says that a recent FDA warning was triggered by confusion …

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> Former NIH geriatric psychiatry head Pearson "Trey" Sunderland pleaded guilty this week to violating conflict of interest rules. Sunderland had failed to disclose that he had accepted $285,000 in payments from Pfizer while serving as a researcher at NIH. Article

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The long arm of the drug companies snags yet another researcher. Pearson "Trey" Sunderland III, who was chief of the Geriatric Psychiatry Branch at the National Institute of Mental Health, is accused of failing to disclose that he accepted $285,000 in consulting and other fees from Pfizer between 1997 and 2004. Sunderland was paid $25,000 a year for consulting with Pfizer and a $2,500 fee for each one-day meeting he attended with Pfizer executives. Sunderland, whose department was working …

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