Harvey quits La Trobe
February 6, 2014
Adjunct associate professor of
public health at La Trobe University
Ken Harvey has resigned over the
institution’s $15m deal with Swisse
to form a complementary health
research centre (PD 04 Feb).
Harvey said in his letter of
resignation that he was concerned
about conflicts of interest for the
proposed centre and the staff
involved, the Age reported.
Harvey claimed research paid for
by the industry was more likely to
report positive results, and that
Swisse was known for prioritising
marketing of its products over
scientific assessment, the
publication said.
A Swisse spokesman said this was
an issue between Dr Harvey and
the university, and that the centre
was what the industry needed and
the project was a “fantastic” idea.
La Trobe media and
communications acting director
Tim Mitchell said the university
recognised there were challenges
with such partnerships but it
was seeking multiple commercial
partners and that these
collaborations would only go ahead
on the basis that research would be
conducted at arm’s length from the
partners.
All data would be published in
peer-reviewed journals, regardless
of results and the project would
answer questions that consumers
wanted to know, he said.
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