Conflict of Interest

Raising Awareness on Managing Competing Interests in a Multi-Stakeholder Environment: Guidance to Patients and Engaging Stakeholders – download the guidance below

Background/Rationale for the document
Managing competing interests and conflicts of interest is of utmost importance when planning, considering and conducting patient engagement activities in medicines development.

For this reason, we developed a set of tools:

  • Raising awareness on managing competing interests in a multi-stakeholder environment: Guidance to patients and engaging stakeholders
  • Short guidance on managing competing interests and conflicts of interests
  • Log of patient engagement activities
  • Educational scenarios on competing interests and conflicts of interest

Objective of the tool
These tools aim at:

  • Raising awareness among patients (in their role of experts by experience) and the engaging stakeholder organisations of the consequences that the act of engagement might have on patients during multi-stakeholder interactions
  • Highlighting how each stakeholder could better prospectively manage competing interests, and
  • Avoiding/minimising conflict of interest by suggesting risk mitigation strategies.

Summary of the content
The main guidance is a comprehensive document outlining the definitions and types of interest, recommendations and mitigation measures as well as the considerations when engaging vulnerable populations. Examples of engagement activities and their levels of restriction are also included.

The short guidance helps clarify basic concepts and includes stakeholder-specific considerations and recommendations on conflict of interest.

The log of patient engagement activities facilitates tracking patient’s involvement in a systematic manner in order to declare their interests when engaging with one or more stakeholders.

The educational scenarios provide illustrative examples to identify common situations where conflicts of interest might occur and what measures could be taken for their management.

Key message
Together, these tools will support patients in order to take informed decisions before the engagement and help engaging stakeholders to understand the consequences that the act of engagement might have on patients during multi-stakeholder interactions in medicines development.

Download the guidance