Conflict of Interest and Medicine

Boris Hauray is a sociologist at Inserm (French National Institute for Health and Medical Research) and a member of the Institute for Interdisciplinary Research on Social Issues (IRIS). He was the scientific coordinator of the project MEDICI on conflict of interest in the field of medicines (French National Research Agency, 2017–2021). Henri Boullier is a sociologist at CNRS (National Center for Scientific Research) and a member of the Interdisciplinary Research Institute in Social Sciences (IRISSO). His research focuses on the power relationships at play in health and environmental policies, in particular concerning industrial chemicals and pharmaceuticals. Jean-Paul Gaudillière is historian of science, Senior Researcher at Inserm (French National Institute for Health and Medical Research) and Professor at EHESS (School of Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences). His recent work focuses on the history of pharmaceutical innovation and the dynamics of health globalization. Hélène Michel is a political scientist, Professor at the University of Strasbourg, a member of the Institut Universitaire de France, and of the SAGE laboratory (Societies, Actors and Government in Europe). She has worked on interest groups, lobbying, and transparency policies in the European Union.

Introduction: Conflict of Interest and the Politics of Biomedicine

Part 1. Knowledge and Expertise

1. A Genealogy of Conflict of Interest

2. "Conflict of Interest" or Simply "Interest"? Shifting Values in Translational Medicine

3. Managing Conflicts of Interest at the European Medicines Agency: Success or Weakness of the Soft Law Tools?

4. From the Management of Conflicts of Interest to the Transformation of Medical Experts’ Profiles. The Members of the Transparency Committee in France (2000–2020)

Part 2. Physicians and the Framing of Prescription Practices

5. Conflicts of Interest in Medical Practice: Causes and Cures

6. In Whose Best Interest? Framing Pharmacists’ and Physicians’ (Conflicts of) Interest in the French Market for Generic Drugs

7. The Politics of Industrial Transparency. Constructing a Database on the Pharmaceutical Funding of the Health Sector

8. Scientific Marketing and Conflict of Interest: Lessons From the Hormone Replacement Therapies (HRT) Crisis

Part 3. Mobilizations and Controversies

9. "This Corporation Has ‘Anesthetized’ the Actors in the Drug Chain". Influence Peddling and the Normality of Conflicts of Interest in the Mediator® Scandal

10. For Science, by Science. The Emergence and Circulation of Conflict of Interest as a Protest Repertoire to Fight Against Pesticides

11. Conflict of interest, Capture, Production of Ignorance, and Hegemony: Conceptualizing the Influence of Corporate Interests on Public Health

Postface: Conflict of Interest, Industry Hegemony and Key Opinion Leader Management