The FAIR Foundation is dedicated to fair and equitable distributions of Nation Institutes of Health (NIH) research funds for all diseases, including the sixteen that kill more Americans than AIDS.

1/31/05

Elias A. Zirhouni, M.D.
Director, National Institutes of Health (NIH)
9000 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, Maryland 20892

RE: Paid Consulting Activities

Dear Dr. Zirhouni,

On behalf of The FAIR Foundation, we would like to compliment you on the decision to disallow all employees of the National Institutes of Health from paid consulting activities with drug companies for at least one year. In addition, we are writing to express our concern over the conflict of interest issue when scientists receive money, expensive gifts, lavish entertainment, vacations or other substantial benefit from corporations supporting their research.

Enclosed please find copies of Opinion 8.031 “Conflicts of Interest: Biomedical Research” and Opinion 8.0315 “Managing Conflicts of Interest in the Conduct of Clinical Trials” that address this issue from the Code of Medical Ethics of the American Medical Association.

We urge you to make your ban permanent to insure National Institutes of Health funding is not suspect of such lateral payments between research scientists and private funding corporations and that the National Institutes of Health serves as a sterling example of appropriateness in this regard.

Thank you.

Sincerely yours,

Richard Darling, DDS                                    Leonard J. Morse, MD
President and CEO                                      *Member: The FAIR Foundation
The FAIR Foundation                                   *Chairman Emeritus, AMA Council of Ethical and                                                                    Judicial Affairs (CEJA)
                                                              *Commissioner of Public Health, City of Worcester, MA