Industry, experts and the role of the 'invisible college' in the dissemination of non-invasive prenatal testing in the US

Kelly Holloway; Fiona Alice Miller; Nicole Simms

doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113635

Industry, experts and the role of the 'invisible college' in the dissemination of non-invasive prenatal testing in the US

Soc Sci Med. 2021 Feb:270:113635. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113635. Epub 2020 Dec 23.

Authors

Kelly Holloway¹, Fiona Alice Miller², Nicole Simms³

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Health Sciences Building, 155 College Street, Suite 425, Toronto, ON, M5T 3M6, Canada. Electronic address: [email protected].
² Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Health Sciences Building, 155 College Street, Suite 425, Toronto, ON, M5T 3M6, Canada. Electronic address: [email protected].
³ Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Health Sciences Building, 155 College Street, Suite 425, Toronto, ON, M5T 3M6, Canada. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 33385622
DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113635

Abstract

Enthusiasm for so-called 'personalized' or 'precision' medicine has encouraged the growth of the molecular diagnostics industry and the proliferation of high-priced proprietary tests that can predict, diagnose or inform the treatment of diverse clinical conditions. Through a case study of non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT), we explore how the mechanisms governing the development and dissemination of this novel prenatal screening test are most aptly understood as a 'regulatory regime.' We describe how private actors tied to the manufacturers of this test form a network of "experts" that contribute to the coordination of this regime by virtue of their efforts to navigate the governance of test adoption and also form spaces in which the standards governing test adoption are developed. We draw attention to private actors in this regime to demonstrate that they are a constitutive element of the public policy system governing biomedical innovation and adoption. Through this case study of NIPT we deepen our previous analysis of the role of consultants in navigating and shaping a regulatory regime (Holloway and Miller, 2020) and offer new insight about how scientists work with consultants to shape a regulatory regime that serves industry interests. Our work indicates that the private actors tied to the manufacturers of NIPT (experts employed by industry to court scientists and lobby payers, scientists collaborating with industry, key opinion leaders involved with clinical practice guidelines, lobbyists and consultants), constitute an 'invisible college' that navigates the governance of test adoption. The formations and negotiations over standards for NIPT identified in this paper comprise a new institutional norm: a polycentric regulatory regime permeated by commercial interests. The institutionalization of this regime has implications for accountability, transparency and test quality amidst a proliferation of new proprietary molecular tests.'

Keywords: Commercial interests; Invisible college; Non-invasive prenatal testing; Precision medicine; Qualitative research.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Attitude
Diagnostic Tests, Routine
Female
Humans
Physicians*
Pregnancy
Prenatal Diagnosis*

Grants and funding

MOP133514/CIHR/Canada