Conflict of Interest and Bias Identification and Management

Menzie-Cura will select the peer consultation group to be free of conflicts of interest and biases that would prevent them from giving their independent scientific opinions. Procedures for identifying potential conflict of interest and bias are based on the procedures used by Toxicology Excellence for Risk Assessment (TERA) under the Voluntary Children’s Chemical Evaluation Program1 and the National Academy of Sciences (NAS)2.

NAS defines a conflict of interest as “any financial or other interest which conflicts with the service of the individual because it (1) could significantly impair the individual’s objectivity or (2) could create an unfair competitive advantage for any person or organization.…The term ‘conflict of interest’ means something more than individual bias.  There must be an interest, ordinarily financial, that could be directly affected by the work of the committee.  …no individual can be appointed to serve (or continue to serve) on a committee of the institution used in the development of reports if the individual has a conflict of interest that is relevant to the functions to be performed.”3 NAS notes that conflicts apply “only to current interests” and that conflict of interest “applies not only to the personal financial interests of the individual but also to the interests of others (original emphasis) with whom the individual has substantial common financial interest if these interests are relevant to the functions to be performed.”4 Others interests may include spouse or minor children, an individual’s employer, business partners, or others with whom one has a substantial common financial interest.

Regarding bias, NAS notes that “questions of lack of objectivity and bias ordinarily relate to views stated or positions taken that are largely intellectually motivated or that arise from the close identification or association of an individual with a particular point of view or the positions or perspectives of a particular group.”5 As noted by NAS, potential sources of bias do not necessarily disqualify a candidate to serve in the peer consultation group, but a balance of potentially biasing backgrounds or professional or organizational perspectives is needed.  However, some potential sources of bias may be so substantial that they would prevent an individual from considering others’ perspectives or relevant evidence contrary to their strongly held position.

Menzie-Cura will identify potential conflicts of interest or biases by initial discussions with each peer consultation group candidate regarding the objective of the peer consultation, the companies sponsoring it, and other interested parties and stakeholders. Menzie-Cura will ask the candidate questions about his or her work and relationships with these parties. If, based on these discussions, a candidate is still eligible for the peer consultation group, he or she will be given a copy of Menzie-Cura’s conflict of interest procedures and will be asked to complete a conflict of interest questionnaire. This questionnaire addresses employment history, financial interests, and professional affiliations to determine whether the candidate’s involvement in the peer consultation could pose a conflict of interest or create the appearance that the member’s opinions may be partial.  The conflict of interest questionnaire that Menzie-Cura will send to potential peer consultation group members is consistent with the NAS conflict of interest questionnaire for studies involving program reviews and evaluations6. Menzie-Cura will carefully review these forms and contact the candidates for any further points of clarification before selecting peer consultation group members. Menzie-Cura will view conflict of interest and bias information provided by potential candidates as private information and will not make it public without the candidate’s permission, except as required by law.  However, Menzie-Cura will summarize any conflict of interest or bias information for each person selected for the peer consultation group in a public disclosure statement that the member will be asked to review and approve prior to the peer consultation group meeting.  These disclosures will also be included in the final Meeting Report.

For questions about conflict of interest and bias procedures in the peer consultation process, contact Menzie-Cura at:

Email address
MenzieCura@AOL.com

Mailing address
Menzie-Cura & Associates Inc.
2 West Lane
Severna Park, MD 21146

  1. Toxicology Excellence for Risk Assessment. Conflict of Interest and Bias Policy for Members of the Voluntary Children’s Chemical Evaluation (VCCEP) Peer Consultation Panels. 2006. Available at http://www.tera.org/peer/VCCEP/VCCEPCOI.html. (Last accessed 12/20/2006)
  2. National Academy of Sciences. Policy and Procedures on Committee Composition and Balance and Conflicts of Interest for Committees Used in the Development of Reports. May 2003.  Available at: http://www.nationalacademies.org/coi/index.html.  (Last accessed 08/10/2006)
  3. http://www.nationalacademies.org/coi/bi-coi_form-0.pdf (Last accessed 12/20/2006)
  4. Ibid.
  5. Ibid.
  6. http://www.nationalacademies.org/coi/bi-coi_form-2.pdf (Last accessed 12/20/2006)