A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association sheds light on the ties between academic medical centers and pharmaceutical companies, including the former's representation on drug maker's boards of directors.
Researchers at UPMC in Pittsburgh examined the boards of directors for the 50 largest pharmaceutical companies, as ranked by global sales and excluding three that were not publicly traded, according to a ProPublica report. Nineteen companies, or 40 percent, had at least one board member who also filled a leadership role at an academic medical center. "Leadership role" includes CEO, clinical department chair, division director, medical school dean and hospital board of director (board member was not specified).
Ultimately, UPMC researchers found 41 of the pharmaceutical companies' 2012 board members served in leadership or governance roles at academic medical centers. Sixteen of the 17 U.S.-based companies had at least one board member with direct AMC ties, while several had more than one.
Of those 41 board members, six were pharmaceutical company executives who sat on AMC boards of directors or held other advisory positions.
In 2012, AMC leaders — excluding those industry executives — earned an average of roughly $312,564, according to the study.
"When AMC leaders serve on pharmaceutical company boards, they hold a fiduciary responsibility to shareholders to promote the financial success of the company, which may conflict or compete with institutional oversight responsibilities and individual clinical and research practices," the study authors wrote, concluding that the depths of these relationships merit further exploration.
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