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An Interest in Conflict?
The 'conflict of interest' policy of the General Medical Council and the fitness to practice hearing of Dr Andrew Wakefield, Professor Walker-
Martin J Walker MA
Conflict of interest has become a major area of regulatory, academic and legal concern over the last decade. Most of the concern has focused on the links between academics, experts, PR consultants and industry in a variety of legal and medical fields.i The area today does, however, stretch to the interests of newspaper and
television reports and politicians. To simplify, it is possible to say that conflict of interest and declaration of conflict of interest, affects, or could affect anyone who appears to be speaking independently.
Britain has not necessarily been behind, in grasping the nettle of declaration of conflict of interest but unfortunately the critical issue has often been replaced by a rather blasé approach to the whole matter. When I disclosed that the late Sir Richard Doll, perhaps the world's most famous epidemiologistii had taken large amounts of undeclared money from Monsanto, whilst working on studies, and writing critical articles about other epidemiologists involved in researching chemical causes of cancer, a number of 'eminent' scientists (some of them intimate with Sense About Science) wrote to the Guardian newspaper claiming that Sir Richard's research would not have been influenced by such payments. In relation to pharmaceutical companies and regulatory bodies, it has now become commonplace to take for granted a wide range of conflicting interests.
In 1999, the Committee on Safety of Medicines, began publishing edited
minutes of its meetings on its website, including details of any members who declared links with pharmaceutical companies. This came after a long and tenacious campaign by Charles Medawar, a conscientious campaigner in relation to antidepressant drugs.
The committee is one of the independent advisory bodies that used to give advice to the Medicines Control Agency. Under the Freedom of Information act, Medawar demanded copies of the minutes of committee meetings held during 1998.The committee refused to give Mr Medawar the information he requested and passed him on to the Medicines Control Agency.