Conflicts of interest in psychiatry's bible group

The Integrity in Science Watch Project of the Center for Science in the Public Interests reports:

"More than half the 28 new members of writers of the next edition of the American Psychiatric Association's (APA) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) have ties to the drug industry. The conflicts of interests were posted online by the APA last week. They ranged from small to extensive. Leading the pack was William Carpenter, Jr., director of Maryland Psychiatric Research Center at the University of Maryland, who over the past last five years worked as a consultant for 13 drug companies, including Pfizer, Eli Lilly, Wyeth, Merck, Astra Zeneca, and Bristol-Myers Squibb. APA President Carolyn B. Robinowitz claimed that "we have made every effort to ensure that DSM-V will be based on the best and latest scientific research, and to eliminate conflicts of interest in its development." The fifth DSM, produced in conjunction with the National Institute of Mental Health, will be published in 2012. It is used by mental health professionals to classify mental illnesses."