Promoting integrity in collaborations between academia and the medical industry

Collaboration between academia and the medical industry has been fundamental to advances in cardiovascular diagnostics, pharmacotherapy, devices, and digital health. However, interactions among academic institutions, commercial partners, and professional societies continue to require careful governance to preserve transparency, independence, and public trust. While several professional societies have established robust conflict-of-interest policies, differences in disclosure frameworks and regulatory requirements across institutions and jurisdictions continue to affect clinical research, guideline development, and professional education. Court of Justice of the European Union (EU) rulings further indicate that disclosure alone may be insufficient for expert input within EU agencies. This conceptual article discusses a structured framework for collaboration between academia and the medical industry. Based on European and international policies, regulatory experience, and established practice models, it defines six principles-transparency, independence, accountability, equity, sustainability, and patient-centred benefit-and provides practical recommendations. These include harmonized, publicly accessible disclosure standards; separation of industrial funding from scientific decision-making; strengthened institutional accountability; and independent education and training to support integrity across stakeholders.