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The Influence of Industry Sponsorship on the Research Agenda: A Scoping Review
Open accessAbstract
Background. Corporate interests have the potential to influence public debate and policymaking by influencing the research agenda, namely the initial step in conducting research, in which the purpose of the study is defined and the questions are framed. Objectives. We conducted a scoping review to identify and synthesize studies that explored the influence of industry sponsorship on research agendas across different fields. Search Methods. We searched MEDLINE, Scopus, and Embase (from inception to September 2017) for all original research and systematic reviews addressing corporate influence on the research agenda. We hand searched the reference lists of included studies and contacted experts in the field to identify additional studies. Selection Criteria. We included empirical articles and systematic reviews that explored industry sponsorship of research and its influence on research agendas in any field. There were no restrictions on study design, language, or outcomes measured. We excluded editorials, letters, and commentaries as well as articles that exclusively focused on the influence of industry sponsorship on other phases of research such as methods, results, and conclusions or if industry sponsorship was not reported separately from other funding sources. Data Collection and Analysis. At least 2 authors independently screened and then extracted any quantitative or qualitative data from each study. We grouped studies thematically for descriptive analysis by design and outcome reported. We developed the themes inductively until all studies were accounted for. Two investigators independently rated the level of evidence of the included studies using the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine ratings. Main Results. We included 36 articles. Nineteen cross-sectional studies quantitatively analyzed patterns in research topics by sponsorship and showed that industry tends to prioritize lines of inquiry that focus on products, processes, or activities that can be commercialized. Seven studies analyzed internal industry documents and provided insight on the strategies the industry used to reshape entire fields of research through the prioritization of topics that supported its policy and legal positions. Ten studies used surveys and interviews to explore the researchers’ experiences and perceptions of the influence of industry funding on research agendas, showing that they were generally aware of the risk that sponsorship could influence the choice of research priorities. Conclusions. Corporate interests can drive research agendas away from questions that are the most relevant for public health. Strategies to counteract corporate influence on the research agenda are needed, including heightened disclosure of funding sources and conflicts of interest in published articles to allow an assessment of commercial biases. We also recommend policy actions beyond disclosure such as increasing funding for independent research and strict guidelines to regulate the interaction of research institutes with commercial entities. Public Health Implications. The influence on the research agenda has given the industry the potential to affect policymaking by influencing the type of evidence that is available and the kinds of public health solutions considered. The results of our scoping review support the need to develop strategies to counteract corporate influence on the research agenda.
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“This bias is of special concern when research is funded by an entity that has an interest in outcomes that are favourable to its own commercial, academic, or other interests.123”
From Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology using Mendelian Randomisation (STROBE-MR): explanation and elaboration. (2021) · cites this paper as [123]
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Chillo, P., Mashili, F. L., Kwesigabo, G., Ruggajo, P., & Kamuhabwa, A. A. R. (2022) · Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine · doi:10.3389/fcvm.2022.849007 · Cited by 15
“In developed countries, funding for research is a common practice and has been the driver for major breakthrough in health sciences (72).”
BackgroundGallehzan, N. A., Khosravi, M., Jamebozorgi, K., Mir, H., Jalilian, H., Soleimanpour, S., Hoseini, S., Rezapour, A., & Eshraghi, A. (2024) · Health Economics Review · doi:10.1186/s13561-024-00478-7 · Cited by 15
“Industry sponsorship can be a source of bias as they may support a particular agenda and be influential at multiple stages of research design and implementation and influence the choice of research priorities [73].”
BackgroundInvolvement of the food industry in nutrition conferences in Latin America and the Caribbean
Mialon, M., Jaramillo, Á., Caro, P., Flores, M., González, L., Gutiérrez‐Gómez, Y. Y., Mendivil, L. L., López‐Arana, S., López-Bautista, F., Mata, C. L., et al. (2020) · Public Health Nutrition · doi:10.1017/s1368980020003870 · Cited by 16
“Moreover, the involvement of the food industry in science is shaping the research agenda in ways that are favourable to market-driven solutions(22,23).”
BackgroundCommercial determinants of mental ill health: An umbrella review
Dun-Campbell, K., Hartwell, G., Maani, N., Tompson, A., van Schalkwyk, M. C., & Petticrew, M. P. (2024) · PLOS Global Public Health · doi:10.1371/journal.pgph.0003605 · Cited by 16
Efficacy of smokeless tobacco for smoking cessation: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Stjepanović, D., Phartiyal, P., Leung, J., Lim, C. C. W., Sun, T., Chung, J. Y. C., GARTNER, C. E., Hall, W., & Chan, G. (2022) · Tobacco Control · doi:10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2021-057019 · Cited by 16
Cannabis companies and the sponsorship of scientific research: A cross-sectional Canadian case study
Grundy, Q., Imahori, D., Mahajan, S., Garner, G., Timothy, R. K., Sud, A., Soklaridis, S., & Buchman, D. Z. (2023) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0280110 · Cited by 14
“Scientists’ perceptions are confirmed by a body of meta-research associating industry sponsorship with patterns in research agendas that focus on products, processes, or activities that can be commercialized and marketed, and topics that support the industry’s policy and legal positions [9].”
BackgroundInfluentialSelf-citationOoi, S. L., Micalos, P. S., & Pak, S. C. (2023) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0290314 · Cited by 12
Industry influence on public health policy formulation in the UK: a complex systems approach
Akker, A. V. D., Fabbri, A., Bertscher, A., Gilmore, A., Knai, C., Cavill, N., & Rutter, H. (2024) · Health Promotion International · doi:10.1093/heapro/daae139 · Cited by 15
“12 and 13), as evidence indicates how industry funding of science influences research questions, methods and conclusions (Fabbri et al ., 2018; Legg et al ., 2021).”
Self-citationMitchell, G., & McCambridge, J. (2023) · Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs · doi:10.15288/jsad.22-00184 · Cited by 14
“There are known to be wide-ranging impacts on research agendas (Fabbri et al., 2018), although formal documentation and study of global alcohol industry involvement in science is relatively recent (Babor, 2009; Babor & Robaina, 2013; Bartlett & McCambridge, 2021, 2022; Golder et al., 2020; Golder &…”
BackgroundMcCambridge, J., & Golder, S. (2023) · Addictive Behaviors · doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2023.107932 · Cited by 14
The intersections of industry with the health research enterprise
Akl, E. A., & Khamis, A. M. (2019) · Health Research Policy and Systems · doi:10.1186/s12961-019-0457-7 · Cited by 14
“The study showed how corporations could bias the published evidence towards their interests and drive the research interests away from the most relevant public health problems to avoid blame for the public health problems [14, 15].”
BackgroundSmith, M. J., Baxter, A. J., Skivington, K., McCann, M., Hilton, S., & Katikireddi, S. V. (2021) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0255604 · Cited by 12
“argue that disclosure of COI and funding should be mandatory [34, 35].”
BackgroundChartres, N., Sass, J. B., Gee, D., Bălan, S. A., Birnbaum, L. S., Cogliano, V. J., Cooper, C., Fedinick, K. P., Harrison, R. M., Kolossa‐Gehring, M., et al. (2022) · Environmental Health · doi:10.1186/s12940-022-00926-z · Cited by 12
The State of Research Funding for Interventional Chronic Pain Therapies
Agarwal, S., Gharibo, C. G., & Schatman, M. E. (2023) · Journal of Pain Research · doi:10.2147/jpr.s418801 · Cited by 12
“Further, industry-funded research can create a perception of bias to outside readers, potentially leading to the dismissal of the findings of the studies.(10) As a result, some may view industry-funded studies with skepticism and distrust, even if the studies are well-designed and executed, and have undergone rigorous…”
BackgroundGorman, D. M., & Ferdinand, A. O. (2020) · Research Integrity and Peer Review · doi:10.1186/s41073-020-00098-9 · Cited by 12
Makady, H., & Liu, F. (2022) · Lecture notes in computer science · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-05311-5_6 · Cited by 10
Moheb, M. N. E., Karam, B. S., Assi, L., Armache, M., Khamis, A. M., & Akl, E. A. (2020) · World Journal of Surgery · doi:10.1007/s00268-020-05771-0 · Cited by 11
How pharmaceutical companies misappropriate fat acceptance
Bombak, A. E. (2023) · Critical Public Health · doi:10.1080/09581596.2023.2273201 · Cited by 13
“The pharmaceutical industry cultivates a series of compromised policy, media, and clinical relationships (Fabbri et al., 2018).”
BackgroundOldac, Y. İ., & Olivos, F. (2025) · Review of Education · doi:10.1002/rev3.70021 · Cited by 10
Graham, S. S., Grundy, Q., Sharma, N., Edward, J. S., Barbour, J. B., Rousseau, J. F., Majdik, Z. P., & Bero, L. A. (2025) · Research Integrity and Peer Review · doi:10.1186/s41073-025-00164-0 · Cited by 10
“…industry affiliation, and conflicts of interest (COI) with positive results bias [1, 2], diminished trust [3], biases in setting research agendas [4, 5], and possible patient harm [6], too little has been done to implement meaningful policy change when it comes to preventing and managing COI…”
Self-citationKitagawa, T., Isaji, Y., Sasaki, D., Onishi, K., Hayashi, M., & Okuyama, W. (2025) · BMJ Open · doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2024-093163 · Cited by 13
SRNT's Racial Equity Task Force, Piper, M. E., Maddox, R., Castro, Y., Hinds, J. T., Henderson, P. N., Clark, H. W., Guy, M. C., & Choi, K. (2022) · Addiction · doi:10.1111/add.15964 · Cited by 9
Drivers of medicalization in the Canadian Adult Obesity Clinical Practice Guidelines
Bombak, A. E., Adams, L., & Thille, P. (2022) · Canadian Journal of Public Health · doi:10.17269/s41997-022-00662-4 · Cited by 11
Buchman, D. Z., & Rosenbaum, D. (2024) · Public Health Ethics · doi:10.1093/phe/phae002 · Cited by 11
“Industry sponsorship may also serve to shift research agendas in directions that may, knowingly or unintentionally, be harmful to public health (Goldberg, 2016; Fabbri et al. , 2018).”
BackgroundChartres, N., Fabbri, A., McDonald, S., Diong, J. H. L., McKenzie, J. E., & Bero, L. A. (2020) · BMJ Open · doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2020-039036 · Cited by 10
Self-citationGenuis, S. K., Luth, W., Campbell, S., Bubela, T. M., & Johnston, W. S. W. (2021) · Frontiers in Neurology · doi:10.3389/fneur.2021.683197 · Cited by 11
Perceived status threat and health among White Americans: A scoping review
Efird, C. R., Bennett, F., Metzl, J. M., & Siddiqi, A. (2022) · SSM - Population Health · doi:10.1016/j.ssmph.2022.101326 · Cited by 10
“Our findings are limited by the inherent constraints of scoping reviews, which aim to provide breadth rather than depth of information about a given topic (Fabbri, Lai, Grundy, & Bero, 2018; Tricco et al., 2016).”
Baldez, D. P., Biazus, T. B., Rabelo‐da‐Ponte, F. D., Nogaro, G. P., Martins, D. S., Signori, J. P. S., Gnielka, V., Passos, I. C., Czepielewski, L. S., & Kunz, M. (2023) · Trends in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy · doi:10.47626/2237-6089-2023-0664 · Cited by 9
Metadata
- Authors
- Fabbri, A., Lai, A., Grundy, Q., & Bero, L. A.
- Affiliations
- The University of Sydney (AU)
- Venue
- American Journal of Public Health
- Publisher
- American Public Health Association
- Published
- 2018-11
- Volume
- 108
- Issue
- 11
- Pages
- e9-e16
- ISSN
- 0090-0036 (ISSN-L)
- 1541-0048
- PMC
- PMC6187765
- OpenAlex
- W2892388218
- Cited by
- 317
- References
- 43
- Citations by year
- 2026: 35 · 2025: 46 · 2024: 45 · 2023: 37 · 2022: 43 · 2021: 71 · 2020: 23 · 2019: 15
- FWCI
- 5.28
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- American Journal of Public Health (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Canadian Institutes of Health Research
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Issues, ethics and legal aspects › Pharmaceutical industry and healthcare
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Global Public Health Policies and Epidemiology
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Strategy and Management › Political Influence and Corporate Strategies
- Keywords
- industry funding, research agenda setting, corporate influence on research, research funding, conflicts of interest, commercial bias, research priorities, industry lobbying, research regulation, public health research, research ethics committees, research ethics training, research ethics oversight
- MeSH terms
- Industry, Policy Making, Research Support as Topic, Conflict of Interest
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