US ponders loosening NIH ethics rules

Strict new ethics rules imposed on National Institutes of Health staff to prevent lucrative deals with drug companies may be loosened if warranted, Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt has said.

The rules, which limit outside consulting work, were announced in February after reports of one NIH researcher who was paid US$500,000 over 5 years by a private company, and other similar cases.

NIH scientists have been chafing under some of the restrictions, which require many employees to list their stock holdings and even sell off shares to prevent potential conflicts of interest.

"There have been concerns raised. We are in the process of analysing them and will make a decision based on those comments," said Leavitt. For instance, Dr James Battey, head of the NIH's National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, told a Senate hearing earlier this month the restrictions might force him to quit.

To avoid conflicts of interest, the ethics rules prohibit NIH employees from outside work such as consulting or giving paid speeches for drug companies, health care providers, insurers, or professional societies. Many staff also will be banned from holding investments in drug makers or others affected by NIH work and forced to divest their stakes.

One group of NIH scientists, calling themselves the Assembly of Scientists, is campaigning against the rules as too restrictive. As written, the rules "will severely and irreparably compromise the NIH's mission" by hindering recruitment of top researchers, the group has said. NIH director Dr Elias Zerhouni has said the limitations have alienated employees and need to be reconsidered, and Leavitt said he is doing so.