Oxford University Press CEO Responds With Apparent Acquiescence to Journal’s Non-Disclosure Disclosure

On Monday morning, Oxford University Press chief executive officer Nigel Portwood declined to answer questions about how OUP supervises its journals and oversees its policies with regard to conflicts of interest and disclosure. His answer was limited to an apparent acquiescence to the Journal of Animal Science’s limited addendum ‘for clarity,’ which did not concede or specify the authors’ direct conflict of interest in a controversial article about canine dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) – a progressive heart disease that can eventually lead to congestive heart failure – and possible links to certain types of diets. The article’s authors are funded by a consultancy that is funded by a company (Zignature) that is the beneficiary of the article written by the authors, which contradicts the findings of the industry’s regulator, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

“OUP supervises society and journal partners in accordance with the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and we require that all journal authors declare any conflict of interest,” OUP chief Nigel Portwood told The Canine Review through a spokesperson. “In cases such as this where concerns have been raised, OUP and the journal in question work together to understand the situation and issue corrections as required.”