Biotech: Competing Interest Statement after leaving academia
This would seem to me to be somewhat in the same class of things as citation. If you fail to cite or fail to disclose when you should, then you have problems. In the current situation, possibly legal problems. If you over cite or over liberally interpret the requirement to disclose possible conflicts, then there is little chance of problems. Consumers of research, whether readers or patients, have a right to know that the best judgement was used in such areas. Failure to disclose is a problem as it calls the honesty and motives of the researcher into question.
As you note in a comment, a conflict in itself doesn't invalidate results, but simply warns others that they need to be certain of results, a bit more than if no conflict exists.
Quite a lot of &quot;research&quot; was published in the climate change (global warming) area where no disclosures were made and the &quot;research&quot; turned out to be propaganda. The tobacco industry was accused of the same thing. But, a lot, likely most, of sponsored research is completely valid. Someone has a &quot;need&quot; to know and is happy to pay for the knowledge.
So, the advice I have, though it isn't my field, is &quot;when in doubt, disclose&quot;. I am, of course, someone who could benefit or suffer from research done well or badly, so I have a vested interest in things being done right. In the pandemic situation at the moment, we all seem to be experimental subjects of one sort or another.