BMJ 2014;348:g1291 doi: 10.1136/bmj.g1291 (Published 5 February 2014)
Page 1 of 1
Letters
LETTERS JOURNALS AND DRUG INDUSTRY RESEARCH
Ban on publishing industry funded research could harm surgical innovation 1
Stephen Chapman final year medical student , Aneel Bhangu general surgery registar
2
School of Medicine, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK; 2West Midlands Research Collaborative, Academic Department of Surgery, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham B15 2TH, UK 1
A blanket ban on publishing drug industry funded research has implications for surgical research.1 Industry collaborations in surgery involve drugs and devices, with the latter driving technological advancement. Recent efforts—encouraged by the Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCSEng)—have focused on strengthening these collaborations to promote and encourage surgical innovation.2 Industry funded investigator led research focuses on clinical autonomy of trial design and discourages industry representation on trial management committees. Surgical research is often investigator initiated and led; commercial partners do not automatically own data. RCSEng and partners (including the National Institute for Health Research, Cancer Research UK, and Rosetrees Trust3) have established a network of surgical trial units across the UK, which hold research data securely and independently. This model could be translated to drug research in medicine, enabling greater openness while maximising collaboration. A ban on publishing industry funded research could harm surgical innovation. Disclosure of the role of the funder and the
source of the data repository, in addition to independence of clinician researchers in trial conduct, should be mandatory and would overcome current concerns. Commercial partnerships in surgery may be beneficial and may even speed publication, rather than delay it. Competing interests: AB sits on a trial management group that has received industry funding to conduct surgical research. Within that trial, design, management, and data analysis are independent of the funder; data are held in a core funded trials unit. 1 2 3
Richard Smith R, Gøtzsche PC, Groves T. Should journals stop publishing research funded by the drug industry? BMJ 2014; 348 doi:g171. (14 January.) National Institute for Health Research Clinical Research Network. Joining up with royal colleges. 2013. www.crncc.nihr.ac.uk/Resources/NIHR%20CRN%20CC/Networks/CCRN/ Speciality%20Groups/Documents/Surgery_royal%20college%20example.pdf. Royal College of Surgeons of England. The Rosetrees and the RCS clinical trials initiative. 2013. www.rcseng.ac.uk/surgeons/research/surgical-research/surgical-clinical-trials.
Cite this as: BMJ 2014;348:g1291 © BMJ Publishing Group Ltd 2014
[email protected] For personal use only: See rights and reprints http://www.bmj.com/permissions
Subscribe: http://www.bmj.com/subscribe
Page 1 of 1
Letters
LETTERS JOURNALS AND DRUG INDUSTRY RESEARCH
Ban on publishing industry funded research could harm surgical innovation 1
Stephen Chapman final year medical student , Aneel Bhangu general surgery registar
2
School of Medicine, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK; 2West Midlands Research Collaborative, Academic Department of Surgery, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham B15 2TH, UK 1
A blanket ban on publishing drug industry funded research has implications for surgical research.1 Industry collaborations in surgery involve drugs and devices, with the latter driving technological advancement. Recent efforts—encouraged by the Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCSEng)—have focused on strengthening these collaborations to promote and encourage surgical innovation.2 Industry funded investigator led research focuses on clinical autonomy of trial design and discourages industry representation on trial management committees. Surgical research is often investigator initiated and led; commercial partners do not automatically own data. RCSEng and partners (including the National Institute for Health Research, Cancer Research UK, and Rosetrees Trust3) have established a network of surgical trial units across the UK, which hold research data securely and independently. This model could be translated to drug research in medicine, enabling greater openness while maximising collaboration. A ban on publishing industry funded research could harm surgical innovation. Disclosure of the role of the funder and the
source of the data repository, in addition to independence of clinician researchers in trial conduct, should be mandatory and would overcome current concerns. Commercial partnerships in surgery may be beneficial and may even speed publication, rather than delay it. Competing interests: AB sits on a trial management group that has received industry funding to conduct surgical research. Within that trial, design, management, and data analysis are independent of the funder; data are held in a core funded trials unit. 1 2 3
Richard Smith R, Gøtzsche PC, Groves T. Should journals stop publishing research funded by the drug industry? BMJ 2014; 348 doi:g171. (14 January.) National Institute for Health Research Clinical Research Network. Joining up with royal colleges. 2013. www.crncc.nihr.ac.uk/Resources/NIHR%20CRN%20CC/Networks/CCRN/ Speciality%20Groups/Documents/Surgery_royal%20college%20example.pdf. Royal College of Surgeons of England. The Rosetrees and the RCS clinical trials initiative. 2013. www.rcseng.ac.uk/surgeons/research/surgical-research/surgical-clinical-trials.
Cite this as: BMJ 2014;348:g1291 © BMJ Publishing Group Ltd 2014
[email protected] For personal use only: See rights and reprints http://www.bmj.com/permissions
Subscribe: http://www.bmj.com/subscribe
