Association for Academic Surgery (AAS)

by

Industry Sponsored Studies: Friend or Foe?

I was often intrigued by the number of conflict of interests listed on the disclosure slides at the beginning of the talks back in the days when I was a medical student and surgery resident. It gives the audience, or perhaps only me, an impression that the speakers must be influential figures in their respective fields. Having a few of these disclosures myself as a faculty, it gives me a whole new perspective.

Since the success rate of competitive federal funding has been quite low in the modern era, it is not uncommon for academic surgeons to seek for support from industries. But we need to be cognizant about the specific terms and conditions of these relationships. There is an important distinction between “working for industries” and “working with industries”. While both may have some level of financial gain through fees-for-services or research funding support, the former does not carry much weight on the advancement for our academic career. Thus, we must choose to engage in these relationships wisely.

These relationships can generally be divided into 3 overly simplified categories. Each one has its pros and cons for academic surgeons.

  1. Drug or device companies seeking for surgeons to participate on their trials for their products with some financial incentives. While these contracts often cover most of the costs for conducting their study at the academic institutions, this may or may not lead to academic credits, such as authorship in scientific abstracts or publications, which are essential for career advancement in academic surgery.
  2. Drug or device companies seeking for surgeons to provide expert advice or biospecimen/clinical data for their product development with financial incentives. This is probably the most diverse surgeon-industry relationship. Depending on the nature of the contract and agreement, it can potentially lead to important innovation and surgical treatment and a fruitful path to the advancement in academic career. It may also precede the next category of relationship described below. But we need to be mindful that there is still no guarantee this will lead to abstracts or publications.
  3. Drug or device companies providing research funds and/or products for supporting studies or trials initiated by surgeon-scientists. This is by far the most difficult surgeon-industry relationship with the highest academic value to be established. Not only we need to have an innovative idea which is deemed “profitable” for the sponsoring industry and aligns with their short-term and long-term strategic plans, but we also need to establish a network with industries and reach the key decision-makers within those industries. Depending on the terms and conditions of the contracts, studies with adverse results may not translate into publications, grant proposals, or clinical trials. The efforts spent may not have the expected returns. The pressure of producing positive results may also knowingly or subconsciously create a significant conflict of interest.

With the increasing demand on our clinical workload, we need to use our time wisely and to protect our interests as academic surgeons. I encourage you to:

  • Approach industry as academic partner.
  • Focus on your potential academic gain.
  • Maintain a high moral and ethical standard.
  • Learn when to invest your time and when to divest your effort.
Dr. Carlos H.F. Chan, MD, PhD, FACS, FRCSC, FSSO

Dr. Carlos H.F. Chan, MD, PhD, FACS, FRCSC, FSSO

Dr. Chan is a tenured Associate Professor at the University of Iowa with an active surgical oncology practice and an active basic/translational science research laboratory. His main clinical focus is on HPB and peritoneal surface malignancies and research focus on novel immunotherapeutic strategies for pancreatic and peritoneal surface malignancies. He is also the medical director of the Biospecimen Procurement and Molecular Epidemiology Resource of the Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Chan completed his MD degree, PhD in Biochemistry, and general surgery residency at McGill University and Complex General Surgical Oncology fellowship at the Dana Farber Program at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital. He has conducted over two decades of oncology research in basic, clinical, and translational sciences and clinical trials and generated over 130 publications. His research is well supported by federal agencies, surgical societies, and industries.
Dr. Carlos H.F. Chan, MD, PhD, FACS, FRCSC, FSSO

Latest posts by Dr. Carlos H.F. Chan, MD, PhD, FACS, FRCSC, FSSO (see all)