Proprietary Interest
Introduction
Proprietary interest describes a personal or financial interest in a product or company. It is important that clinical investigators are free of any financial or other interests that might be perceived to influence the conduct of their research. Disclosure of proprietary interests is very important so that the reader can be aware that there may be a conflict of interest that would influence the investigator's objectivity.
Types of proprietary interest include:
- Private or personal interest (financial or otherwise) in the product or company or entity that sponsors or supports the research.
- Own or have stock holdings in that company
- Membership on the Board of Directors or in senior management positions of the company
- Receive significant payments from the company
The assumption is that a proprietary interest in a product or company will interfere -- or at least will appear to interfere -- with an investigator's objectivity.
References
- FDA "Guidance: Financial Disclosure by Clinical Investigators" (March 20, 2001)
- NIH Guide - Financial Conflicts of Interest and Research Objectivity: Issues for Investigators and Institutional Review Boards (June 5, 2000)
- GAO "Biomedical Research: HHS Direction Needed to Address Financial Conflicts of Interest" (November 2001, link will open a PDF file that requires Adobe Acrobat Reader to view)
© 2003-2005
The University of Iowa Center for Macular Degeneration
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