Management of conflict of interest in Japanese Society of Hematology

Conflict of interest (COI) is a conflict between related parties, such as researchers, research institutions, academic societies, and third parties (commercial companies and patients). COI sometimes twists research and clinical practice, resulting in the profit instruction of related individuals or organizations. In medical research, high ethical standards are demanded to protect human rights, life, and safety of study participants, and COI must be properly enforced to maintain study fairness and ensure transparency. In Japan, the Japanese Association of Medical Science issued COI guideline in 2017, which formed the basis of many societies in making their common COI guidelines. The Japanese Society of Hematology issued COI management guideline in 2018 and is strictly managing COI of its members, organization, and clinical guideline committee members. As industry-academia collaboration activities become more active, the concept of COI is deepening; therefore, appropriate COI disclosure should be conducted based on recent trends to promote sound research and business activities.