Michael E. Selzer

Reporting clinical trials Full access to all the data

Biomedical research is becoming more complex as a result of involvement by individual investigators, universities, commercial research units, and industry. Financial conflicts of interest have been the subject of many editorials, and most peer-reviewed journals now require authors to identify and explain any conflicts when submitting manuscripts for publication. Clear statements of industry-sponsored research and author participation in corporate activities are required for evaluation of a manuscript. Full disclosure of financial interests by authors is essential to retain public trust in biomedical research, the peer-review process, and the integrity of the authors and universities.1 We already require that each author sign a statement of his or her financial arrangements with public, private, and industry sources of support. These declarations alert the editor, reviewer, and physician-reader to …