Conflicts of Interest on the Agenda at Medical Publication Conference

[Guest guest]

Conflicts of Interest on the Agenda at Medical Publication Conference

The International Society for Medical Publication Professionals (ISMPP), a

non-profit organization " dedicated to the best practices of the medical

publishing sector, " will hold its _second annual conference_

(http://www.ismpp.org/ismpp%20annual%20meeting.htm) April 24 through 26.

P. Stossel, M.D.,

a Harvard Medical School professor, will offer the keynote address on " The

Medical Media and Promotion of the Conflict of Interest Culture. " Writing last

September in the New England Journal of Medicine,Stossel concluded that " the

intense energy currently dedicated to demonizing academic-industrial research

relationships should be redirected toward developing better ways to identify

and facilitate the type of partnerships that have brought more good, by far,

than harm. " At the end of that sounding board article, Stossell disclosed he

has received consulting fees from ZymeQuest, owns stock options in ZymeQuest

and Biogen, and has pending and issued patents, owned by Brigham and Women's

Hospital, some of which are licensed to ZymeQuest. Corporate sponsors for

ISMPP's meeting include Amgen, AstraZeneca, Pfizer, and Merck among others.