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Provisions in research funding agreements between Coca-Cola and five public institutions gave the company the right to review the research in advance and control over study data, disclosure of results and acknowledgement of funding. The provisions, which were included in 87,013 pages of documents obtained through public records requests pertaining to the U.S., Europe and Australia, were published in a new study in the Journal of Public Health Policy. Researchers found no evidence that the company had actually squashed unfavorable research, but did find evidence that scientists negotiated with funders to remove restrictive clauses.
The study acknowledges its small sample size of five agreements but suggests that Coca-Cola’s practices may be representative of other funders. It recommends that journals supplement funding disclosures and conflict-of-interest statements by requiring authors to attach funder agreements. Coca-Cola reportedly told STAT that it only supports research if other funding sources account for more than 50 percent of the project’s budget. It also highlighted its promotion of rigorous research on and other efforts to curb obesity.
