A senior Senate Republican has launched an investigation into the Food and Drug Administration’s secret e-mail monitoring of scientists who warned that unsafe medical devices were approved over their objections, saying whistleblowers often are treated “like skunks at a picnic.” Read more…

By Lisa Rein and Ellen Nakashima

Washington Post

WASHINGTON — To head off medical conflicts of interest, the Obama administration is poised to require drug companies to disclose the payments they make to doctors for research, consulting, speaking, travel and entertainment.

Many researchers have found evidence that such payments can influence doctors’ treatment decisions and contribute to higher costs by encouraging the use of more expensive drugs and medical devices. Read more…

By: Robert Pear

The New York Times

Academic articles written by economists might now come with a bit of microeconomic data: the author’s financial ties to firms or advocacy groups.

The American Economic Association, the world’s largest organization for economists, said authors submitting papers to its publications must disclose any potential conflicts of interest. The Nashville, Tennessee-based organization also urged its 18,000 members, about half of whom work in academia, and other economists to apply the standard to all media. Read more…

By Timothy R. Homan

Businessweek

A bill that critics warn weakens whistleblower protections quietly moved through a House subcommittee last month and now has supporters like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce pushing the full committee to quickly pass it.

CHICAGO—A leading group of academic economists has adopted conflict-of-interest rules in response to criticism that the profession not only failed to predict the 2007-2008 financial crisis but may actually have helped create it.

The new policy stops well short of the broader ethical guidelines demanded by some in the field. Read more…

By Ben Casselman
The Wall Street Journal