The Journal of the American Medical Association has begun publicizing the failures of research authors to disclose financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry, according to an online editorial by JAMA Editor Catherine DeAngelis, the Boston Globe reports. Since 1990, JAMA has required its authors to list all financial interests that could be perceived as influencing their article. However, after some journal authors recently failed to divulge their connections with the drug industry, "DeAngelis has undertaken a campaign to enforce her journal's disclosure requirements," the Globe reports. DeAngelis in the editorial specifically admonished Harvard University researchers, writing that it is "somewhat surprising" that three instances of nondisclosure this year involved authors from the university. DeAngelis said that the Harvard omissions most likely arose from an ignorance of the journal's policies, rather than from purposeful deceit. Joseph Martin, dean of Harvard Medical School, said he plans to send out 8,000 letters to Harvard faculty clarifying JAMA and New England Journal of Medicine conflict-of-interest policies (Goldberg, Boston Globe, 8/8). DeAngelis in the editorial rejected the notion that JAMA should ban authors who fail to disclose their conflicts of interest. She added that banning authors "would only encourage that author to send his or her articles to another journal; it cleans our house by messing others." Medical journals could not jointly agree to ban certain authors who fail to abide by disclosure policy, DeAngelis said. "There's a risk for antitrust suits" if JAMA banned certain authors, she said, adding, "I've talked to lawyers and so have other journals" (Bloomberg/Boston Globe, 8/8).

The editorial is available online.

Editorial
"When profit motive and the advancement of personal careers become too entangled with how Americans make decisions about their health, the least that can be done is to point out those conflicts of interest," according to a Christian Science Monitor editorial. According to the Monitor, "Disclosure of financial ties seems the very least journals should demand." Medical journals "must now ask themselves if they are really doing everything possible to promote honest research," the Monitor concludes (Christian Science Monitor, 8/8).

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