Grassley seeks APA disclosures

Clinical Psychiatry News,  August, 2008  by Alicia Ault

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Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) has asked the American Psychiatric Association (APA) to disclose how much financial support it receives from the pharmaceutical industry. The senator requested that the association provide an accounting of industry funding from January 2003 to the present, including, but not limited to, grants, donations, and sponsorship for meetings.

The APA should also explain its conflict of interest policies, including whether the organization allows pharmaceutical companies to place restrictions on how funding is used, according to a letter the senator sent to the association last month. Senator Grassley, who is the ranking minority member of the Senate Finance Committee, has been investigating conflicts of interest, and he cited reporting in the New York Times that led him to believe that nonprofit organizations were being unduly influenced by drug and device makers.

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