Conflict of Interest

      There’s several ways that you can weed out potential conflicts of interest in your clinical trial: First, if an investigator suggests that you participate in a clinical trial, among the questions you should ask is, how he or she is compensated for enrolling patients into the trial. Your investigators should be for those services by the Company sponsoring a clinical trial just as your insurance company would pay for the doctor’s time if he or she were giving you an annual physical exam or treating you for an illness.

     If the payment your investigator receives for enrolling you in a clinical trial is substantially more than the payment he or she would receive for treating your illness, this may indicate a conflict. Compensation should also be limited to payment for services. If the investigator or study staff is paid a special bonus simply for enrolling volunteers into the study (in addition to payment for the services provided during the study) this may also single conflict. Clinical researchers can benefit in ways other than direct compensation. For example, if the investigator developed the new therapy under investigation, then he or she may stand to benefit financially once the product reaches the market. Similarly, if the investigator holds stock or part ownership in the company developing the investigational drug or device, the researcher may benefit financially. The lure of profits from the eventual success of an experimental product can unduly influence an investigator to enroll volunteers in clinical studies so that the product can be brought to the market as quickly as possible.

      Before you agree to participate in a clinical trial, you’ll want to be confident that the principal investigator is recommending the trial for the right reasons. Discuss ahead of time how your doctor is being compensated for his or her role in the clinical trial. Try to find out if there are any other incentives that could be influencing his or her recommendation. If you think your doctor may have a potential conflict of interest, run the information by a physician you trust and ask his/her opinion, or contact the IRB.