Myopia: Causes, Prevention, and Treatment of an Increasingly Common Disease (2024)
Chapter: Appendix B: Disclosure of Unavoidable Conflict of Interest
Appendix B
Disclosure of Unavoidable Conflict of Interest
The conflict of interest policy of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (http://www.nationalacademies.org/coi) prohibits the appointment of an individual to a committee authoring a Consensus Study Report if the individual has a conflict of interest that is relevant to the task to be performed. An exception to this prohibition is permitted if the National Academies determines that the conflict is unavoidable and the conflict is publicly disclosed. A determination of a conflict of interest for an individual is not an assessment of that individual’s actual behavior or character or ability to act objectively despite the conflicting interest.
Donald Mutti has a financial conflict of interest in relation to the Committee on Focus on Myopia—Pathogenesis and Rising Incidence because he is a consultant for Vyluma, a company developing pharmaceuticals for myopia control, and also for Ocular Services on Demand.
The National Academies has concluded that, for this committee to accomplish the tasks for which it was established, its membership must include at least one individual with current experience and expertise in exploring the biological and environmental factors that could explain myopia’s increasing incidence, including in the clinical use of the results of research advances in emmetropization. As described in his biographical summary, Dr. Mutti has extensive experience researching and developing personal monitoring technology to determine the effect of light exposure on myopia progression, and he has played a key role in establishing current views of the protective effects of time outdoors and the limited influence of near work on the risk of myopia onset and progression.
The National Academies has determined that the experience and expertise of Dr. Mutti is needed for the committee to accomplish the task for which it has been established. The National Academies could not find another available individual with the equivalent expertise and experience who does not have a conflict of interest. Therefore, the National Academies has concluded that the conflict is unavoidable.
The National Academies believes that Dr. Mutti can serve effectively as a member of the committee, and the committee can produce an objective report, taking into account the composition of the committee, the work to be performed, and the procedures to be followed in completing the study.
