Seeking disclosure

My article on cyclooxygenase-2 NSAIDs1 represents data from randomized controlled trials and my own personal interpretation of those data. I am the managing director of the Therapeutics Initiative, which holds as one of its primary tenets the maintenance of independence from government and other vested interest groups. This independence is achieved in part by a 5-year grant funding arrangement administered by the University of British Columbia and by restriction of membership on decision-making committees and working groups to people who are not employed by government or the drug industry. To maintain credibility as a source of evidence-based information, the Therapeutics Initiative follows the rule that all those involved, whether they are researching and producing reports, preparing and disseminating educational material, or voting on committee decisions, must have no competing interests.

James M. Wright Departments of Pharmacology and Therapeutics and of Medicine University of British Columbia Vancouver, BC