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Since the mid-twentieth century, a particular social category—conflict of interest—has dominated our thinking on the influence of pharmaceutical companies in the world of medicine. Initially applied to issues of expertise, it was then mobilized to consider the biases of scientific publications, before targeting the multiple facets of the presence of pharmaceutical manufacturers in medical activity. The success of this category reflects several social processes: the important place occupied by healthcare professionals in society, doubts over the heteronomy created by their increasingly obvious links with economic players, a health democratization movement (questioning of medical authority, mobilization of collectives and associations), and attempts to restore trust by regulating these conflicts of interest. While this dissemination has made it possible to implement policies aimed at limiting situations of conflict of interest, it has often led to the introduction of various policies geared toward making the dynamics of influence transparent.