Strict new ethics rules imposed on National Institutes of Health staff to prevent lucrative deals with drug companies may be loosened if warranted, Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt said on Tuesday.The rules, which limit outside consulting work, were announced in February after reports of one NIH researcher who was paid $500,000 over five years by a private company and other similar cases.NIH scientists have been chafing under some of the restrictions, which require many employees to list their stock holdings and even sell off shares to prevent potential conflicts of interest.
