More Universities Scrutinized over Financial Ties to Pharmaceutical Companies

Just last month, Stanford University announced a new policy limiting drug company financing of continuing education programs for healthcare professionals. Yet not all universities have been willing to cut their ties with big pharma.
Senator Chuck Grassley has demanded more accountability and cited a University of Texas researcher who received $150,000 from Glaxo SmithKline for research performed on the company’s anti-depressant drug Paxil. The fees were never disclosed, a violation of federal law.
The University of Texas is not the only institution caught in Grassley’s crosshairs. Harvard, Brown, and the University of Texas have been probed. Grassley has called for the National Institutes of Health to withdraw funding and grants from those universities that are not in compliance with the law.
This issue goes beyond just a matter of a conflict of interest. It’s really a matter of being a good corporate citizen and establishing trust with the public. If companies, institutions, or governments are not disclosing information they quickly lose the public’s trust. The public has a right to know about the documents conerning Eli Lilly’s Zyprexa. The public has a right to know about company documents concerning safety concerns of medical devices such as the Stryker hip, Kugel Hernia Mesh patch, and contamination issues surrounding the blood thinner heparin. It’s a matter of public interest and companies have a duty to inform the public about safety issues. Even institutions such as the Catholic Church have a duty to disclose to the public issues of public safety, most especially about child safety. When the church refuses to do so, it loses the public trust and its ability to be a moral force in the society.
This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. These companies and institutions have a duty to the general public. It’s part of the social compact and a bedrock of our democracy. Transparency is key to public trust as well as good public relations.