House Subcommittee Chair Asks HHS To Help Investigate Potential Conflicts of Interest at NIH

Rep. Jim Greenwood (R-Pa.), chair of the House Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, wrote a letter Wednesday to HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson, "asking for his assistance in forcing disclosure" of the dollar amounts in consulting fees that NIH scientists have received from drug companies, the Los Angeles Times reports. Greenwood wrote that despite a request on behalf of the House Energy and Commerce Committee made two months ago, "To date, the Committee has not yet received dollar amounts for any of the consulting arrangements" (Willman, Los Angeles Times, 2/26). NIH Director Elias Zerhouni told the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education in late January that a panel chaired by two highly respected scientists from the public and private sectors would investigate allegations of conflict of interest among NIH employees who received consulting fees and stock options from drug companies. The allegations surfaced after the Los Angeles Times reported results of an investigation that found evidence of hundreds of consulting payments to various NIH officials. Such payments are often hidden from public view because a 1998 legal opinion from the Office of Government Ethics allows more than 94% of NIH's top-paid employees to keep their consulting income confidential. In December, Zerhouni acknowledged concerns about consulting agreements between drug companies and agency employees and ordered a review of consulting fees paid to NIH scientists. On Jan. 16, Reps. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), John Dingell (D-Mich.) and Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) also asked the General Accounting Office to investigate NIH scientists' collaborations with drug companies (California Healthline, 1/20).

In his letter, Greenwood cited a Jan. 27 directive from Edgar Swindell, associate general counsel for ethics at HHS, asking that "effective immediately," all employees seeking approval to work with pharmaceutical companies or other outside entities must first identify "the amount and type" of compensation for they will receive for the arrangement. Swindell also told NIH ethics officers to request information about the financial aspects of past consulting projects. Swindell said, "Eliciting the dollar amount is relevant for determining whether the compensation is so excessive or disproportionate to the time expended as to suggest, for example, that public office is being used for private gain." In the letter to Thompson, Greenwood requested that the information for all consulting arrangements since January 1, 1999, be sent to the committee by March 3. Greenwood also asked that Thompson help in turning over by March 3 "[a]ll records related to any internal review or investigation conducted in response to the Los Angeles Times Dec. 7, 2003, article." A spokesperson for Zerhouni said Wednesday that "NIH is doing everything possible -- current rules and regulations permitting -- to address the committee's concerns in a timely way." William Pierce, a spokesperson for Thompson, said that the secretary "will continue to work with Chair Greenwood and the committee as they go about doing their work" (Los Angeles Times, 2/26).