Medicine Board refuses to attend drug conference

THE organisers of a medical conference which will discuss conflicts of interest within the pharmaceutical and medical industries have expressed dismay that the Irish Medicine Board has refused to attend.

Orla O’Donovan, one of the conference’s moderators, and a University College Cork lecturer who has researched pharmaceutical regulation across Europe, said the decision fits with the agency’s reluctance to participate in public engagement about its work.

Ms O’Donovan said unlike its European counterpart, the IMB does not provide public access to its experts’ declarations in interests.