Conflict of interest update
This article was originally published in The Gray Sheet
Executive Summary
FDA's device center is included in Acting Commissioner Lester Crawford's plans to help ensure avoidance of potential conflicts of interest. The agency will expand the number of its employees who are required to file financial holdings declarations; conduct an annual review linking outside activities to financial disclosure statements; release a "staff manual guide" on outside activities to help insure uniform practices; and develop a faster, electronic HHS Form 520, which is a "Request for Approval of Outside Activity" for both paid and unpaid work FDA employees perform outside of their official duties. The agency notes that in a review of 1,800 HHS Form 520s, it found no conflicts of interest. The House Energy & Commerce/Oversight & Investigations Subcommittee recently turned its attention to FDA after criticizing NIH for conflicts of interest (1"The Gray Sheet" May 24, 2004, p. 13)...