Steven George

Based on WU’s Research COI Policy and the Procedures for Determining and Managing Research Financial Conflicts of Interests, the Conflicts of Interest Review Committee (CIRC) determined Dr. George’s personal financial relationship with 4Design Biosciences LLC, related to the above referenced research, creates a financial conflict of interest due to the following reasons:
1.) The primary focus of 4Design Biosciences LLC, an entity with which Dr. George owns equity, is to create and commercialize application-specific 3D microphysiological systems for drug development, which is directly related to the subject of the research,
2.) Dr. George’s personal financial relationship is directly related to the study because the study is evaluating a product licensed by 4Design Biosciences LLC,
3.) Since Dr. George owns equity in the company and will earn royalties from the sale and distribution of the licensed technology, he could directly benefit, should the company’s value increase as a result of the study,
4.) Dr. George’s role as Principal Investigator could directly affect the outcome of the study.

While the CIRC determined Dr. George has a financial conflict of interest, there are mitigating factors that help address the situation:
1.) Dr. George is uniquely qualified by virtue of his expertise and experience, and the research could not be conducted as effectively without his involvement,
2.) Other, non-conflicted, internal and external faculty and collaborators, not under Dr. George’s supervision, are involved in the conduct, review, and reporting the results of the research,
3.) The research is in an early ‘proof of concept’ phase, and no commercial product is currently available,
4.) As 4Design Biosciences LLC creates (b)(4) that are specific to the needs of each client, the outcomes of the research are unlikely to directly affect the value of the company.