FASEB offers conflict of interest guidance

The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) has developed a set of overarching principles and voluntary standards for the conduct and management of academic-industrial interactions. The report, "Shared Responsibility, Individual Integrity: Scientists Addressing Conflicts of Interest in Biomedical Research," is directed at scientists and is meant to complement government, institutional, and other requirements. The report provides 19 guiding principles to encourage transparent and accountable research activities and to make academic scientists aware of the challenges of academic-industry interactions and of institutional requirements related to these challenges. The principles specify that researchers should make sure they maintain access to data resulting from industry collaborations and that the researchers take part in the analysis and interpretation of the data. The principles also remind investigators that federal money should not be used to benefit a company unless the funds are intended for cooperative research. The report notes that investigators should consider their mentoring responsibilities when working out agreements and ensure that students and postdocs are not impeded in their ability to publish their work.