The same level of legal scrutiny that applies to research funded by the US government should apply to research funded by industry, according to UCSF School of Pharmacy faculty member Lisa Bero, PhD, and co-authors of a study that appeared July 20, 2005 in the online issue of American Journal of Public Health.

Laws passed by the US Congress in 1998 and 2001 require that raw data from federally funded research be available to the public for review and follow specific quality standards. No such laws govern industry-sponsored research, says Bero. "As a result, the public health community cannot use (these laws) to challenge industry science," she explains. The scientific community should support efforts "…to make privately sponsored health and safety testing data available to scientists for interpretation and analysis," conclude the co-authors.

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Unprecedented Industry-backed Laws Limit Public Safety, Study Shows