A dozen leading drug and medical-device manufacturers have agreed to publicly disclose their grants to doctors, including those in academe, and to post the information on their Web sites, the Associated Press reported today.

The industries have been accused for years of trying to improperly influence doctors and medical trainees with free trips, consulting fees, and continuing-education conferences. In most cases, the businesses are not required to disclose such ties, but lawmakers have been stepping up pressure on them to do so. Some groups in academe have also pushed teaching hospitals to ban such gifts.

The manufacturers, including Medtronic Inc. and Abbott Laboratories, informed Sen. Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, that they either have disclosure plans or are working on them. Watchdog groups say the companies are trying to stave off legislation that would require them to publicly disclose where their money is going.

“If they were doing this out of the goodness of their heart, they would have done so decades ago,” said Peter Lurie of the consumer group Public Citizen. —Katherine Mangan