Balancing industry partnerships and scientific rigor
Howard D. Sesso ScD, MPH, FAHA, Associate Director, Division of Preventive Medicine, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Associate Epidemiologist, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, one of the experts on the panel, sat down with NutraIngredients-USA in North Bethesda, Maryland to delve into the work involved in conducting and publishing research. He highlighted the importance of industry collaboration in conducting rigorous trials and suggested supplement companies approach research as a partnership.
“it's [all about] communication,” said Dr. Sesso. “So I think a lot of it is really trying to break down some of the real or perceived communication barriers. I think the other part of it is that we need to really come at it as a partnership.
Ultimately, the science is leading it…but until you do the study you don't know what the result will be. So there is an element of risk there that I think the more that we work together from the start all the way through to completion, it doesn't eliminate the risk—we can't guarantee a result–but at least it helps to ensure that there'll be no question on the nature of the collaboration, the study design and how well the study was done,” said Dr. Sesso.
To hear more on the value of communication and collaboration between academia, industry and government, and if Dr Sesso is convinced of the benefits of multivitamins, watch the full interview.
