Harvard relaxes COI rules for clinical researchers

Harvard Medical School has relaxed its conflicts of interest (COI) rules for faculty members who conduct clinical research, more than doubling the amount they can receive from the companies whose products they are investigating.

Previous rules allowed faculty members to receive no more than $10 000 from each company whose technology they were studying. But under new rules issued on 12 May, faculty members can now receive up to $25 000 from a company. For some prolific researchers this may mean substantial amounts of industry funding.

Faculty members can also hold up to $50 000 worth of stock …