Ethics, industry, and outcomes.

Evidence-based medicine depends on research that is reliable, well conducted, and free of influence from interest groups (which are not confined to industry). There are many ways to influence the outcome of clinical research, and the history of influence in research related to tobacco is illuminating in this regard. Health care depends on industry, and if properly managed, the relationship between industry and medical academia can be symbiotic. Achieving positive outcomes from such relationships depends on ensuring the presence of the elements needed for reasonable independence on the part of investigators, and on understanding the ways in which influence can be exerted over the production and publication of evidence. Regulation cannot substitute for integrity, particularly the integrity of the investigators. Pushing the limits of ethics in research threatens to undermine not only the reputation of those conducting the research but also the standing of science itself.