Science in the Private Interest: Has the Lure of Profits Corrupted Biomedical Research?

Sheldon Krimsky

Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, Aug 31, 2004 - Medical - 247 pages

Something has changed in the culture and values of academic science over the last quarter-century. University science is now entangled with entrepreneurship, and researchers with a commercial interest are caught in an ethical quandary. How can an academic scientist honor knowledge for its own sake, while also using knowledge as a means to generate wealth? Science in the Private Interest investigates the trends and effects of modern, commercialized academic science.

This book dives unhesitatingly into some of modern science's messiest and most urgent questions. How did scientists begin choosing proprietary gain over the pursuit of knowledge? What effects have academic-corporate partnerships had on the quality and integrity of science? And, most importantly, how does this affect the public?

Contents

• INTRODUCTION: 1
• TALES OF THE UNHOLY ALLIANCE: 9
• UNIVERSITYINDUSTRY COLLABORATIONS: 27
• KNOWLEDGE AS PROPERTY: 57
• THE CHANGING ETHOS OF ACADEMIC SCIENCE: 73
• THE REDEMPTION OF FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEES: 91
• PROFESSORS INCORPORATED: 107
• CONFLICTS OF INTEREST IN SCIENCE: 125
• A QUESTION OF BIAS: 141
• THE SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS: 163
• THE DEMISE OF PUBLICINTEREST SCIENCE: 177
• PROSPECTS FOR A NEW MORAL SENSIBILITY IN ACADEMIA: 197
• REINVESTING IN PUBLICINTEREST SCIENCE: 215
• SELECTED BOOKS: 233
• INDEX: 235
• ABOUT THE AUTHOR: 247

About the author

Sheldon Krimsky is professor of urban and environmental policy and planning at Tufts University. He is the author of six books and over 100 essays and reviews.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Science in the Private Interest: Has the Lure of Profits Corrupted Biomedical Research?; G - Reference,Information and Interdisciplinary Subjects Series
• Author: Sheldon Krimsky
• Edition: reprint, revised
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, 2004
• ISBN: 0742543714, 9780742543713
• Length: 247 pages
• Subjects: Medical / Ethics; Medical / Research; Science / Biotechnology; Science / General