Statement on pharmaceutical funding

UKRIO is funded by subscriptions from UK public sector, charitable research organisations, and higher education institutions. We have never received any funding from private sector organisations which conduct pharmaceutical or biomedical research.  A list of our current subscribers is available here.

During our first phase, which ran from 2006 until late 2010, UKRIO received £10,000 from the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI). This support from the ABPI comprised c. 1.4% of our total first phase funding. There were no conditions attached to this funding from the ABPI, which was received in 2006-07.

The majority of funding in our first phase was provided by public sector bodies or charities. Many organisations with an interest in research integrity came together to establish UKRIO, including: the four UK Departments of Health, the four UK Higher Education Funding Councils, the Academy of Medical Sciences, the Association of UK University Hospitals, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, the Committee on Publication Ethics, the General Medical Council, the Medical Research Council, the Medical Schools Council, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, Research Councils UK, the Royal College of Physicians, the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, the Royal Society, Universities UK and research charities including the Wellcome Trust.

The majority of our first phase funding was provided by the four UK Departments of Health and the four UK Higher Education Funding Councils.

Policy on funding from the pharmaceutical industry

Our policy is that external funding will not divert UKRIO from its agreed aims and values. Donations to UKRIO do not entitle any individual or organisation to decision-making authority and no individual funding source should be of a magnitude that would allow it to exercise control or compromise in any significant way the independence of UKRIO.

Accordingly, our funders do not determine who we help or how we help them. UKRIO does not share confidential information on its work – for example, who has sought our advice, what their concerns were or how we assisted them- with the organisations that support us.

The issue of funding by the pharmaceutical industry has been addressed regularly at meetings of our Trustees and our Advisory Board. The position has consistently been that any funding coming from
the pharmaceutical industry would only be accepted under the same no-strings-attached
 conditions.

It has also been agreed that if UKRIO was ever to accept any funding from the pharmaceutical industry, this should be limited so that the loss of that amount would not affect the running of UKRIO in any significant way. In fact, all funding from the pharmaceutical industry stopped after the small contributions of 2006-2007.

If you have any questions about our funding, please contact us.