Authors of Report Recommending EU-wide HPV Vaccination Hide Conflicts of Interest

At least 3 out of 6 authors of the recent report by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), including the panel chair, appear to have failed to declare potential conflicts of interest.

The purpose of the report is to "lay down the scientific basis for the potential introduction of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines in order to help European Union (EU) Member States to make policy choices". Clearly, independence of the panel is an important issue. The report states:

1. Patricia Claeys, Panel Chair

Patricia Claeys declared that she indeed had conflicts of interest in a Belgian report dated October 17, 2007, on the same issue:

We have not received a reply to our e-mail asking Ms. Claeys for a comment on this inconsistency.

2. Paolo Bonanni

Paolo Bonanni is listed as a supporter of the "Coalition Against Cervical Cancer" (CACC). The CACC was launched at the 'First Global Summit on Cervical Cancer', an event held in Paris and heavily funded by Sanofi Pasteur MSD, the company which markets Gardasil in Europe on behalf of Merck, Inc. A newspaper report on the Summit states:
3. Adam Finn

Adam Finn has served both as a speaker and as a chairperson on industry symposia sponsored by Sanofi Pasteur MSD (which was named Aventis Pasteur MSD until 2004).


(2004)


(2007)

Furthermore, Adam Finn has conducted a number of vaccine trials which were financed by drug companies.

Conclusion

Medical journals have recently announced that they would ban authors from publishing who deliberately fail to disclose any conflicts of interests. We consider full disclosure even more important in an official EU report that is likely to affect the health of millions of people and to have a significant impact on a multi-billion Euro market.
 
[HPV]