IRB Conflicts of Interest Persist Save

Committees at academic institutions that make decisions on research and clinical trials may be conflicted, as nearly one-third of IRB members have some ties to the pharmaceutical industry. This amount has not changed in the last decade, despite greater awareness and transparency about conflicts of interest amongst physicians (Citation source http://buff.ly/1gAzZUz).

Yet some feel that strict exclusion of those with knowledge of the pharmaceutical industry or biotech could be equally hazardous to the institution and the development of novel therapies for difficult to treat diseases. While these conflicts may bias reviews or voting, it's not clear that such relationships are harmful to patients or the institutions.