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The House Committee on Oversight and Reform is requesting a series of documents from prestigious national academies of science, engineering and medicine, spurred by a recent KHN survey which revealed deep ties between pharmaceutical companies and two members of a committee that took a pro-pharmaceutical stance in a recent report on drug waste.
The House probe, led by Democratic Representatives Raja Krishnamoorthi and Katie Porter, focuses on conflicts of interest held by members of a committee currently examining a life and death issue: America’s organ donation and distribution policy. A panel member recently resigned after accepting a consultant position that apparently created a conflict of interest. House members ask NASEM to provide conflict of interest disclosure forms to all committee members.
Members of Congress want to ensure that the reports of the National Academies, established in 1863 to provide Congress with expert scientific advice, are widely accepted as independent and free from special interests or financial influence.
Starting Sept. 7, NASEM is asking committee members to disclose relevant financial relationships over the past five years, going beyond its recent policy of asking for details of ongoing conflicts, the door said. lyrics by Dana Korsen.
The institution said conflict of interest policies are intended to protect it “from a situation where others might reasonably question, and possibly exclude or reject, the work of the committee simply because of the existence of such conflicting interests” .
This summer, national academies refused to provide KHN with conflict of interest forms filled out by committee members studying the packaging of liquid drugs, which are often wasted, as well as millions of taxpayer dollars paid to drug companies. for them. The final report declared conflicts for two members, but not for two others who had extensive and recent financial ties to pharmaceutical companies. At that time, the organization said these committee members had no “current” conflicts at the time of writing, mainly in 2020.
A review of public records showed that a member said for medical journals in 2021 and 2020 that he had consulted for a dozen drug companies. Another member received around $ 1.4 million as a member of the board of directors of a pharmaceutical company in 2019, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission file. Both told KHN that they had fully reported their financial relationships to the national academies.
Moreover, NASEM itself had disclosed to an obscure treasurer reports that pharmaceutical companies – many of whom are directly interested in drug waste policy – had given the nonprofit at least $ 10 million in donations since 2015.
The last drug waste NASEM report issued in February concluded that drug companies should not reimburse taxpayers for the cost of wasted drugs packaged in “CostcoSmall vials containing more medicine than can be used. Additionally, Medicare should not track the cost of wasted drugs, the report concludes.
Friday, The The Washington Post reported on the resignation of a former organ transplant physician from a NASEM committee to review organ transplant policies. Dr Yolanda Becker resigned from the organ donation committee after the Post asked him and NASEM about a possible conflict of interest.
Becker’s resignation comes amid scrutiny of the U.S. organ transplant system, which is overseen by the United Network for Organ Sharing, or UNOS, a federal nonprofit entrepreneur.
Critics, including members of Congress, have questioned the performance of many of the country’s 57 organ procurement organizations, or OPOs, which hold federal charters guaranteeing their monopolies to collect and distribute organs in areas specific geographic areas of the United States.
“The organ transplant industry has long been a haven for fraud, waste and abuse,” Representative Porter said in a statement to KHN. “I am grateful that NASEM also strives to hold OPOs accountable, but I am concerned that potential conflicts of interest could interfere with their judgment. “
Jennifer Erickson, senior fellow and director of the bodies initiative at the Nonpartisan Federation of American Scientists, raised questions about conflicts of interest with NASEM during a Session of July 15.
“Disclosure is essential. The public deserves to be informed about conflicts of interest and undisclosed payments, ”she said. “A good start would be for all members of this committee to publicly disclose their business relationships related to organ suppliers,” [organ] fabric companies and trade associations so that the public can be in the know.
The Trump administration approved new rules in 2020 with the aim of increasing the number of organs transplanted by OPOs by more than 7,000 per year. Almost 107,000 people in the United States are waiting for organs and dozens die every day from lack of transplants. About 39,000 organs were transplanted from donors in the United States last year.
In May, a House subcommittee chaired by Krishnamoorthi held a hearing on the problems of the organ transplant system, including the problems revealed by KHN report and Reveal which found that donated organs – mainly kidneys – are repeatedly lost or damaged when shipped via commercial flights. From 2014 to 2019, nearly 170 organs were not transplanted and nearly 370 suffered “near misses” with delays of two hours or more, compromising their usefulness for sick patients.
Representatives Krishnamoorthi and Porter have asked NASEM to provide them with an explanation of their intention to disclose any committee conflict in the body’s next report. They also requested any records of donations to NASEM from organ procurement organizations or related companies or associations.
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