Conflict of Interest Contract Language

Conflict of Interest Specific to Disseminating the Evidence-Based Drug Review:
Anti-Epileptic Drugs For Mood Disorders Project (AED Project)

Because of the terms of the settlement agreement of the alleged deceptive “off-label” marketing practices of Pfizer subsidiary Warner-Lambert, and the work to be performed by the AED Project members, the State of Vermont has required disclosures relating to potential conflict of interest issues, and approval of work on the project by certain key individuals. Before an individual can serve as a key decision–making professional on the project, the individual must submit a conflict of interest disclosure as outlined below and receive approval from the State to work in the proposed capacity on the project.

The State has required the following conflict of interest disclosure from the AED Project members:

  1. Individuals should disclose payments received from Pfizer and other pharmaceutical companies that produce products that compete with Neurontin, for on-label and off-label uses. If individuals are not certain whether the pharmaceutical company from which it has received payments produces a product that competes with Neurontin, a disclosure concerning the payment should be made.
  2. The Principal Investigator, Co-Principal Investigators, proposed members of the Science and Dissemination Panel, and any other health care or decision-making professional working on the project must disclose payments received.
  3. Individuals should report payments received from January 2002 to the present.
  4. Individuals who receive payments in excess of $100 must disclose. .
  5. Individuals required to disclose must report:
    1. The name of the pharmaceutical company
    2. The type of work they did for the company
    3. If the work was for a specific drug, the name of the drug and the specific work performed for that drug.

The following individuals have made the required disclosures and are approved to work on this project:

  1. Cathy Melvin
  2. Timothy Carey
  3. Leah Ranney
  4. Erin McClain
  5. John Oldham
  6. Francine Goodman
  7. W. Douglas Evans
  8. John Williams
  9. Thomas Linden