Royalty payments to staff researchers cause new NIH troubles
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《英国医生杂志》
Patients who took part in clinical trials at the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) had no idea that scientists at the institutes received $8.9m (￡4.8m; 6.8m) in royalty payments and might benefit financially for the use of their discoveries by pharmaceutical companies and device makers, reports from Associated Press allege. This information was not made public until the press agency obtained the information after filing a request under the Freedom of Information Act.
The press agency has reported that 916 present and former NIH researchers received annual royalty payments averaging $9700 but could receive as much as $150 000.
At the same time, NIH researchers spent millions of taxpayers' dollars studying the treatments that they had developed that were licensed to drug companies, the agency reported.
A patient advocacy group, the Alliance for Human Research Protection, says that patients might have thought differently about the risks of trial treatment if they knew of scientists' financial interests.
The NIH has been criticised before for not disclosing conflicts of interest ( BMJ 2004;329: 10). Five years ago, just before leaving office, Donna Shalala, then secretary of the federal Department of Health and Human Services, issued a requirement that scientists disclose their financial interests. But nothing happened until the Associated Press's investigations.
The NIH has received almost $56m in royalties for its discoveries, the agency says. This money is put back into its research.
The press agency reported that two leading researchers, Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and his deputy, Clifford Lane, received payments relating to their development of interleukin 2 as a treatment for HIV/AIDS. Dr Lane told the BMJ that the payment was part of his federal compensation. He explained that the government patented the development and shared the payments it received with the inventors. Since 1997 he has received about $45 000 he says. The institutes awarded $36m in grants for studies to test the treatment.
Dr Anthony Fauci told the BMJ that as a government employee he was required by law to put his name on the patent for the development of interleukin 2 and was also required by law to receive part of the payment the government received for use of the patent. He said that he felt it was inappropiate to receive payment and donated the entire amount to charity.
Both doctors told Associated Press that they had been concerned about an apparent conflict of interest for some time before the agency's story appeared.
The BMJ was told by an NIH spokesperson that the NIH had no plans to put information about payments to its researchers on its website and that the BMJ would have to make a request via the Freedom of Information Act to find out royalty payments to individual researchers.(Janice Hopkins Tanne)
The press agency has reported that 916 present and former NIH researchers received annual royalty payments averaging $9700 but could receive as much as $150 000.
At the same time, NIH researchers spent millions of taxpayers' dollars studying the treatments that they had developed that were licensed to drug companies, the agency reported.
A patient advocacy group, the Alliance for Human Research Protection, says that patients might have thought differently about the risks of trial treatment if they knew of scientists' financial interests.
The NIH has been criticised before for not disclosing conflicts of interest ( BMJ 2004;329: 10). Five years ago, just before leaving office, Donna Shalala, then secretary of the federal Department of Health and Human Services, issued a requirement that scientists disclose their financial interests. But nothing happened until the Associated Press's investigations.
The NIH has received almost $56m in royalties for its discoveries, the agency says. This money is put back into its research.
The press agency reported that two leading researchers, Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and his deputy, Clifford Lane, received payments relating to their development of interleukin 2 as a treatment for HIV/AIDS. Dr Lane told the BMJ that the payment was part of his federal compensation. He explained that the government patented the development and shared the payments it received with the inventors. Since 1997 he has received about $45 000 he says. The institutes awarded $36m in grants for studies to test the treatment.
Dr Anthony Fauci told the BMJ that as a government employee he was required by law to put his name on the patent for the development of interleukin 2 and was also required by law to receive part of the payment the government received for use of the patent. He said that he felt it was inappropiate to receive payment and donated the entire amount to charity.
Both doctors told Associated Press that they had been concerned about an apparent conflict of interest for some time before the agency's story appeared.
The BMJ was told by an NIH spokesperson that the NIH had no plans to put information about payments to its researchers on its website and that the BMJ would have to make a request via the Freedom of Information Act to find out royalty payments to individual researchers.(Janice Hopkins Tanne)