TY - JOUR T1 - What to do with a clinical trial with conflicts of interest JF - BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine JO - BMJ EBM SP - 157 LP - 158 DO - 10.1136/bmjebm-2019-111230 VL - 25 IS - 5 AU - Andreas Lundh AU - Isabelle Boutron AU - Lesley Stewart AU - Asbjorn Hróbjartsson Y1 - 2020/10/01 UR - http://ebm.bmj.com/content/25/5/157.abstract N2 - Financial considerations, personal conviction and concerns about academic careers may influence how research is designed, conducted and reported.1 This has recently been highlighted in the case of harms from transvaginal mesh devices and cases of research misconduct where pressure to ensure funding and academic prestige have compromised science.2–4 Less dramatic examples are the overinterpretation of study findings or downplaying of harms.5 6 Such practices may be caused by conflicts of interest which can be defined as circumstances that create a risk that professional judgement or actions regarding a primary interest will be unduly influenced by a secondary interest.1 Concern for conflicts of interest are particularly important in clinical trials, as trials play a central role in clinical practice, by providing the basis for regulatory drug and device approval and by producing evidence to guide clinical decision-making and clinical guideline recommendations.1 About 40% of clinical trials and 70% of drug trials are commercially funded, and a similar proportion of drug trials have authors with industry ties, though there is large … ER -