Industry has increasing role in ophthalmology research funding
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A study highlighted the growing role of industry funding in ophthalmology research, with a 203% increase between 2014 and 2020.
“Results of this study support the hypothesis that research collaborations between industry and ophthalmology are extensive and increasing in scope,” the authors wrote.
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The study used data from the Open Payments program, a nationwide public database reporting industry payments to physicians, and payments for research purposes were extrapolated. Industry funding was then compared with public research funding by the National Eye Institute.
A total of 2,102 ophthalmologists were reported to have received $825,417,233 in industry research payments. The growing investment in research was made evident by the 203% industry funding increase between 2014 and 2020. Comparatively, the total NEI funding during the same period was higher ($5,003,407,764) but increased by only 6.6% between the same time points.
The share of all medical research funding allocated by industries to ophthalmology increased from 1.2% in 2014 to 3.2% in 2020, the authors reported. The number of ophthalmologists receiving research funding increased from 755 to 1,025, and the top 10% received 66% of all research funds.
Of the 108 manufacturers reporting research payments to ophthalmologists, the top 15 covered 93.9% of all funding. The top five were, in order, Genentech, Allergan, Novartis, Alcon and Regeneron. Anti-VEGF agents were the highest-funded products, followed by products related to glaucoma, cataract and inflammatory eye conditions.
The results of this study highlight the increasing interest and involvement of industry in research funding, but this positive trend is not devoid of ethical challenges, according to the authors.
“Although industry-ophthalmologist interactions are crucial to the development of improved treatments, they may present ethical challenges to clinicians who must still base their practicing patterns on individual patient means and needs,” they wrote.
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