BETHESDA, Md., March 8 (UPI) -- Strict new ethics rules at the U.S. National Institutes of Health could affect the agency's ability to recruit top scientists.
The Wall Street Journal reports the regulations now prohibit NIH employees from participating in outside consulting work, limit their speaking fees to $200 and bar thousands of NIH workers from owning stock in pharmaceutical companies or other health-related businesses. The rules were announced last month by Director Elias Zerhouni.
The Journal said while the new rules are no more severe than those already in place at many federal regulatory agencies, longtime NIH employees say scientists should not be treated as bureaucrats.
Ezekiel Emanuel told the Journal the regulations use a "meat cleaver." He said, for example, he was forced to sell General Electric Co. stock because the company has a medical imaging division.
The regulations were drawn up after a number of scandals involving conflicts of interest. In one case Pfizer Inc., which markets an Alzheimer's drug, paid $500,000 to an NIH researcher studying the disease.
