NIH researcher at center of new conflict controversy

A senior NIH researcher is at the center of a fresh round of charges regarding a potential conflict of interest between his financial interests and his research work. Charles Natanson penned an article in JAMA criticizing the safety risks presented by experimental blood substitutes. But he failed to mention that he is a co-inventor of a technology in development at NIH that may make the products safer.

That link drew a rebuke from executives at Biopure and Northfield, which have been struggling to obtain approvals for their products. Biopure CEO Zafiris Zafirelis called the research "seriously flawed." Natanson told the Wall Street Journal that the omission was an error of judgment and took responsibility for it. But he also added that he stands by the study's findings.

- read the story in the Wall Street Journal

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