Healthy Skepticism Library item: 13985

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Publication type: news

AstraZeneca staff trained in new Code of Conduct
Pharmafocus 2008 Jul 17
http://www.pharmafocus.com/cda/focusH/1,2109,21-0-0-JUL_2008-focus_news_detail-0-492079,00.html

Full text:

AstraZeneca is training staff in a new Code of Conduct that aims to ensure employees at all levels and locations act appropriately.

The Code was introduced in May and covers a number issues, including interactions with healthcare professionals, conflicts of interest and the ethics of R&D.

It goes further than the recently revised EFPIA or PhRMA rules and explicitly spells out dos and don’ts on additional issues, such as political donations and insider trading.

AZ’s chief executive David Brennan writes in the Code’s foreword: “I want AstraZeneca not only to be valued as a source of great medicines, but also to be trusted for the way in which we do business worldwide.”

Compliance with the Code is mandatory for all employees, who are expected to report any examples of breaches of the Code – or of AZ policy – promptly.

To facilitate this the company has set up a special ‘AZethics line’ for staff to call in each country as well as a new AZethics.com website should raising the issue with line managers be unproductive or inappropriate.

“Anyone who raises a possible breach in good faith will be supported by management and will not be subject to retaliation,” the company insists.

Staff failing to comply with the Code face what AZ calls “appropriate action”, which ranges from re-training and disciplinary measures to termination of employment.

AZ’s Code covers interaction with healthcare professionals, including the point that the company can only engage their services if they are “legitimately needed”.

The issue of bribery is also broached head on, and when it comes to conflicts of interest staff are instructed to avoid situations “where your loyalty may become divided”.

Employees are also warned to ensure that “all gifts, activities and conduct are of a nature that would not be open to misinterpretation if publicly disclosed”.

The Code says they should consider the risks and potential implications of everything they do, even to the point of encouraging them to ask the question: “How will I feel if the action I take today is featured in the newspapers or on television tomorrow?”

Ultimate responsibility for upholding the Code rests with AZ managers, who must provide “appropriate support” to enable their teams to understand what the Code is and how it works in practice – and the same managers are also responsible “for providing assurance on these matters to the board of directors”.

The AZ Code also stipulates that:

• Staff must not enter into business relationships or offer or provide gifts, hospitality or anything else of value, to induce or reward favourable decisions about products and services

• Directors, officers, employees, and others who act on AZ’s behalf, must not offer, pay or accept bribes

• Staff are forbidden from entering into situations in which personal or family interests may conflict with those of the company