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Conflict of Interest/Commitment

Conflict of Interest/Commitment. Russ Lea, VPR February 2010. Conflict of Interest. Before 1980 we never heard the words scientist and conflict of interest mentioned in the same breath.

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Conflict of Interest/Commitment

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  1. Conflict of Interest/Commitment Russ Lea, VPR February 2010

  2. Conflict of Interest Before 1980 we never heard the words scientist and conflict of interest mentioned in the same breath. Why are America’s leading science journals struggling with their integrity in the face of public skepticism over their credibility? Adapted from S. Krimsky

  3. Is Conflict of Interest an Ethical Problem? If having a conflict of interest is an ethical problem, then what are the reasons for that problem? Can scientists have multi-vested interests and still do good science? Can academic scientists get funds from industry and still remain independent? Adapted from S. Krimsky

  4. Toward Academic Capitalism The decade of the 1980s was a watershed for the university sector. Academia became highly commercialized, especially notable in the life sciences. This effect has been in great part brought on by legislation, A Supreme Court decision, patent policy decisions, declining federal science budgets, and executive orders. These policies and legal decisions have turned research universities into private enterprise zones and made “academic capitalism” a new mission for American Higher Education. The Following timeline presents the policies that have transformed the ethos of the modern research university and turned many scientists into academic-entrepreneurs. Adapted from S. Krimsky

  5. Timeline I: University-Industry-Government Ties • 1980: Diamond v Chakrabarty; Supreme Court approves patenting of life forms; leads to patents on genes, plants, and animals. • Bayh-Dole Act of 1980: (PL 96-517). Also called the Patent and Trademark Law Amendments Act of 1980. Inventions made by academic scientists on federally-funded research were no longer the property of government; institutions can transfer rights to inventors and commercial partners. • Federal tax code was revised to encourage investment in university research, allowing Research and Development Limited Partnerships (RDLP). Adapted from S. Krimsky

  6. Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 Public Law 96-480 • The Secretary of Commerce shall provide assistance for the establishment of Cooperative Research Centers where individuals from industry and universities participate in cooperative technological innovation activities. • Sec. 12: Each Federal agency may permit the director of any of its Government-operated Federal laboratories…to enter into cooperative research and development agreement with industrial organizations. • Promote technological innovation by encouraging cooperation among industry, government, and universities. Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs) between government and industry are created. Adapted from S. Krimsky

  7. Office of Productivity, Technology & Innovation The Office of Productivity, Technology & Innovation (OPTI) was created in the Department of Commerce in 1981 by the Reagan administration. OPTI advocated the use of Research and Development Limited Partnerships (RDLPs) at universities as a means of developing alternative sources of research capital and accelerating the transfer and private appropriation (patents) of federally developed and funded technology. Adapted from S. Krimsky

  8. Time Line II: University-Industry-Government Ties 1981: Economic Recovery Act: tax credits for private investment in university research. 1983: Executive Order # 12591: extends Bayh-Dole Act from small business to any business. 1986: Federal Technology Transfer Act: (PL 99-502) gives to companies licensing rights to federally-funded research discoveries. Adapted from S. Krimsky

  9. Time Line II: University-Industry-Government Tiescontinued 1997: FDA Modernization Act of 1997 (PL 105-324) allows FDA to add official industry representatives to advisory committees. 2000: University R&D funding by industry rises to 8% of overall contributions; up from 3.5% in 1970s. Universities awarded 3200 patents. (Only 96 granted in 1965.) Adapted from S. Krimsky

  10. Ethical Basis for COI Rules: Four Frameworks • Stewardship: public funding of science. • Transparency: openness is compromised. • Consequentialism: distorted science. • Scientific Integrity: loss of the norm of disinterestedness and appearance of objectivity. Adapted from S. Krimsky

  11. Anatomy of Conflict of Interest Antecedent Acts States of Mind Behavior of Partiality Adapted from S. Krimsky

  12. Antecedent Acts: The factors that condition the state of mind of an individual toward partiality. • States of Mind: The affected sentiments, proclivities, and affinities conditioned by the antecedent acts. • Behavior of Partiality: The outcome behavior that is affected by the antecedent acts and states of mind. Adapted from S. Krimsky

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