NIH Director Francis Collins stated in a May 20 press briefing that this “will be a substantial change in the way in which NIH seeks to oversee potential financial conflicts of interest.”
Briefly, the proposed rules would change the threshold for a “significant financial interest” to $5,000 from the current $10,000, and would require institutions to determine if a conflict of interest is significant, report to the NIH or other PHS agency details on how conflicts of interest are being managed, and publish information concerning identified financial conflicts of interests on publicly accessible web sites. See the 26-page Federal Register Notice and other resources for complete information.
Resources
- May 21 Federal Register Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
- May 21 NIH Guide Notice NIH Requests Comments on the Proposed Rule applicable to Regulations on the Responsibility of Applicants for Promoting Objectivity in Research for which Public Health Service Funding is Sought and Responsible Prospective Contractors
- NIH Office of Extramural Research Conflict of Interest policy page
- May 2010 OER Nexus newsletter: We Need Your Input on the Proposed Rule Revising the Financial Conflict of Interest Regulations
The Department of Health and Human Services has extended the comment period for 30 days to August 19, 2010, to clarify certain elements of the proposed rule for which HHS is seeking additional comment.
