Damage Control.

NATIONAL Institutes of Health (U.S.); CONFLICT of interests; SCIENTISTS; CONSULTANTS; ZERHOUNI, Elias A.; VARMUS, Harold, 1939-; PROFESSIONAL ethics; MEDICAL ethics; UNITED States governmental investigations; GOVERNMENT policy

WASHINGTON (D.C.); UNITED States

This article looks at a crackdown at the National Institutes of Health to prevent conflict of interests. " Drastic changes" is how Elias A. Zerhouni, director of the NIH, described the new rules. Scientists, watchdog groups and the 18,000 employees of the NIH are hoping that the limits, announced in June but still being refined, will quell the scandal, foster impartial research and reclaim the public's trust--without driving away top-notch talent. The roots of the current trouble reach back to 1995, when then director Harold Varmus lifted restrictions on outside collaboration in a bid to attract top researchers. The freedom allowed staff to work for, own stock in and even serve on the boards of outside companies that they didn't deal with directly as officers of the government, making the agency a much more desirable workplace. In December 2003, the Los Angeles Times reported that many NIH scientists, including institute directors, had been receiving improper consulting payments from drug companies. The fees amounted to millions of dollars over 10 years. Congressional investigations soon alleged more serious abuses. In September the NIH imposed a one-year moratorium on consulting, and should clarify new rules in 2005.