Two major US federal vaccine advisory committees’ financial conflicts of interest have fallen to their lowest levels in at least 25 years, according to a new JAMA research letter.

Reported conflicts of interest (COI) dropped from 43% in 2000 to 5% in 2024 for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). For the US Food and Drug Administration’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC), rates were 11% in 2000, peaked at 27% in the early 2000s, and have remained under 4% since 2010.

From 2000 to 2024, ACIP’s average annual COI prevalence was 14%. The most common conflicts involved research or investigator support (10%), followed by participation on data and safety monitoring boards, consulting, and stock or royalty holdings. Since 2016, income-related conflicts such as consulting or stock ownership have remained below 1% for both committees. VRBPAC’s recusal rate averaged 7%, compared with 1% for ACIP.

The decline in ACIP’s reported COI prevalence was statistically significant, while VRBPAC’s decline was not, though rates were 0% in 10 of the past 15 years.

The authors noted that FDA policy changes in 2007 that capped COI rates and increased scrutiny “may have spurred these large declines.” Expanded COI definitions in recent years may slightly overstate later figures.

Disclosures can be found in the published letter.

Source: JAMA