Brigham’s parent company was warned in 2014 about Elizabeth Nabel’s potential conflict of interest
Years before she became embroiled in a controversy about her position on the board of directors of Cambridge biotech Moderna, Brigham and Women’s Hospital president Elizabeth Nabel faced questions about her seat on another firm’s board ― questions that officials at the hospital’s parent company believed they resolved.
In 2014, a member of the Partners HealthCare committee that makes sure medical research is conducted ethically and safely wrote a Partners lawyer to raise concerns about Nabel’s role on the board of Dublin-based Medtronic. Frances Miller, a Boston University law professor who spent about 25 years on the committee before stepping down last month, said she thought it represented a conflict of interest because the medical device company did business with the hospital.
“I understand the benefit to Medtronic of having Dr. Nabel on its Board,” Miller wrote. “The company gains an extremely bright, experienced, well-regarded and well-connected health industry player to help guide its fortunes, and perhaps hopes for more direct return. I have more trouble discerning what Brigham [and] Women’s gains from the relationship.”
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