BMJ GroupNov 28 2024 An investigation published by The BMJ today reveals the extent of fossil fuel industry involvement in medical research, leading to fresh calls for academics and publishing companies to cut ties with companies.
The BMJ analysis found that Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia's national oil company, was involved in around 600 articles, mostly through Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare , a joint project between the oil giant and Johns Hopkins Medicine. Many of these papers concerned infectious diseases such as covid-19 and Mpox.
More than 1,000 articles were co-authored by employees of the companies. Often this was due to the involvement of hospitals or research institutes that are directly related to the companies, such as Kuwait Petroleum Corporation's Ahmadi Hospital. Research journals and academic institutions must rethink their collaborations with the fossil fuel industry." Related StoriesOf the world's five leading medical journals, only The BMJ has a policy banning fossil fuel-tied research. In 2020, The BMJ committed to ban advertising and research funded by companies that produce fossil fuels and this is now being extended to cover more BMJ journals.