Canadian Universities Sacrifice Principles In Industry Deals: Report

A new report that examined a dozen collaborations between academia and industry in Canada found that Canadian universities are striking research agreements that place “unacceptable limits on academic freedom and sacrifice fundamental academic principles,” according to the Canadian Association of University Teachers. Of course, the term of each differs, but one of the agreements singled out for criticism involves Pfizer. Specifically, a collaborative research agreement was made within the Vancouver Prostate Centre between the drugmaker, the University of British Columbia and the British Columbia Cancer Agency. Pfizer agreed to invest $9 million over three years, from 2009 through 2012, as part of a program to discover and validate targets for diagnosing and treating breast cancer and prostate cancer. However, the CAUT report took issue with the structure of the arrangement. In particular, the report argues the agreement is “silent on academic freedom,” and it should not be assumed that the language of a collective agreement with university faculty applies. Instead, the CAUT cautions that the VPC is a separate legal entity and, therefore, finds that the agreement “threatens” academic freedom. The report cites a few reasons for its conclusion, including the observation that a research committee, which is designed to review and endorse proposals, is not necessarily comprised of academic researchers. As a result, funding decisions are not made by an impartial peer revi...
Source: Pharmalot - Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: Source Type: blogs