We like to think academic researchers are
motivated purely by the desire to make progress in the fields of science and
medicine. But a new
report published Tuesday finds that as many as 1 in 10 board
positions at for-profit health care companies are held by researchers
affiliated with a nonprofit or academic institution. While there aren’t any
national guidelines set up to prevent these relationships, researchers and
other experts say the overlap amounts to a huge conflict of interest and has
the potential to influence academic work.
