'Potential Conflicts Cited in Process for New Drugs'

article by NICHOLAS BAKALAR here.

The authors of the guidelines widely used to establish standards for prescribing medicines are often paid by the drug companies whose products they discuss, a new survey has found.

The study, by the journal Nature and published in its Oct. 20 issue, found that more than one-third of the guideline authors acknowledged some financial interest in the drugs they recommended, including owning stock and being paid by the company to speak at seminars.

Almost half the published guidelines, the survey found, included no information about potential conflicts.

In half of the more than 200 guidelines examined, at least one author had received research financing from a relevant company, and 43 percent had at least one author who had been a paid speaker for the company.