The Steering Group of The Cochrane Collaboration has undertaken a process of
consultation on commercial sponsorship and the following policy document has
been prepared.

• Read the document here: [web page] [.doc]

The issues of conflicts of interest and commercial sponsorship were
discussed at length at the 11th annual Cochrane Colloquium in Barcelona in
October 2003. A consultation document was then disseminated widely during
December 2003 with a request for views by 31 January 2004; 156 individuals
or groups responded. Most were active members of The Cochrane Collaboration.
The Steering Group met in Bergamo, Italy, from 29 February to 2 March 2004
and considered at length the very extensive and detailed documentation. For
some questions, there was very clear consensus; for others, there was not.
The following document has been drafted and discussed by the members of the
Steering Group in the weeks since then. It contains the revised policy of
The Cochrane Collaboration on this issue.

Please e-mail any comments or queries about this policy to
consult@cochrane.org.