Financial Ties to Industry More Common for Key Authors

Research suggests ties even more common for industry sponsored trials

FRIDAY, Jan. 15 (HealthDay News) -- Authors who perform key scientific roles in clinical trials are more likely to have financial ties to industry, particularly if the trial is industry sponsored, according to a study published online Jan. 11 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Susannah L. Rose, from Harvard Medical School in Boston, and colleagues reviewed data on author roles and financial ties to industry from 235 clinical trials of drugs or biologic agents published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology from 2006 to 2007.

The researchers found that 64 percent of authors reported performing at least one key scientific role and 29 percent of authors reported at least one financial tie to industry. Financial ties to industry were significantly more common among authors who reported performing a key role in clinical trials (adjusted odds ratio, 4.3). Financial ties among key authors were even more common in trials with industry funding (adjusted odds ratio, 5.0 versus 2.5).

"Authors who perform key roles in the conception and design, analysis, and interpretation, or reporting of oncology clinical trials are more likely than authors who do not perform such roles to have financial ties to industry," Rose and colleagues conclude.

One author reported receiving research funding from several pharmaceutical companies.

Abstract
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