Significant Financial Interest

Significant Financial Interest

For this policy:

  1. A financial interest consisting of one or more of the following interests of the investigator and those of the investigator’s immediate family (spouse, dependent children), that reasonably appears to be related to: (a) the investigator’s institutional responsibilities if the research will be PHS-funded, or (b) the study sponsor or an entity that would have an interest in the work and/or the outcome of the research project if the research will not be PHS-funded.
    1. With regard to any publicly traded entity, a significant financial interest exists if the value of any remuneration received from the entity in the twelve months preceding the disclosure combined with the value of any equity interest held in the entity as of the date of disclosure, when aggregated, exceeds $5,000. For purposes of this definition, remuneration includes salary and any payment for services not otherwise identified as salary (e.g., consulting fees, honoraria, paid authorship); equity interest includes any stock, stock option, or other ownership interest, as determined through reference to public prices or other reasonable measures of fair market value.
    2. With regard to any non-publicly traded entity, a significant financial interest exists if the value of any remuneration received from the entity in the twelve months preceding the disclosure, when aggregated, exceeds $5,000, or when the investigator or his immediate family member holds any equity interest (e.g., stock, stock option, or other ownership interest).
    3. Intellectual property rights and interests (e.g., patents, copyrights), upon receipt of income related to such rights and interests.
  2. The term significant financial interest also includes any reimbursed or sponsored travel related to their institutional responsibilities, including travel paid on behalf of the investigator and not reimbursed to the investigator (so that the exact monetary value may not be readily available); except for travel reimbursed or sponsored by a federal, state, or local government agency, an institution of higher education located in the United States, as defined at 20 U.S.C. 1001(a), an academic teaching hospital, a medical center, or a research institute affiliated with a United States institution of higher education as defined at 20 U.S.C. 1001(a). The disclosure will include the purpose of the trip, the identity of the sponsor/organizer, the destination and the duration. The Institutional Official or designee will determine if further information is needed, including monetary value, in order to determine whether the travel constitutes a financial conflict of interest with sponsored research.

  3. The term significant financial interest does not include the following types of financial interests: salary, royalties, or other remuneration paid by or on behalf of the University to the investigator, including intellectual property rights assigned to the University and agreements to share in royalties related to such rights; income from investment vehicles, such as mutual funds and retirement accounts, as long as the investigator does not directly control the investment decisions made in these vehicles; and, income from seminars, lectures, or teaching engagements sponsored by, or income from service on advisory committees or review panels for a federal, state, or local government agency, an institution of higher education, an academic teaching hospital, a medical center, or a research institute affiliated with an institution of higher education.

Policy # Policy Title
RES-005 Financial Conflicts of Interest for Research Investigators