Whether the movie’s views about research and money are wholly accurate is beside the point. It does signal that the clinical trials system is facing an image issue – one that CROs as an industry and university researchers as a group might want to be aware of as the business of research continues to grow at at impressive rate while other sectors of the economy tank.

The Clinical Journal of Oncology says in a new study that researchers with the greatest influence over cancer clinical trials also have the closest financial ties to the pharmaceutical and other industries that benefit from positive clinical trials’ results. This is a disturbing and alarming finding but, unfortunately, not surprising,