Healthy Skepticism Library item: 18531

Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.

Publication type: news

GMiA to reveal incentives
Pharmacy Daily 2010 Aug 4
www.pharmacydaily.com.au

Full text:

INCENTIVES provided by generics suppliers for pharmacists will now come under the microscope, after the ACCC imposed two
conditions on its approval of the Generic Medicines Industry Association (GMiA) Code of Conduct (PD breaking news).

The conditional approval also extends public scrutiny of entertainment provided by the generics firms to pharmacists,
under a similar regime to that which applies to entertainment of doctors under the Medicines Australia code of conduct.

The MA code has resulted in a massive reduction in hospitality provided to doctors, as well as massive fines imposed on
drug companies due to perceived violations of the Code.

ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel said that the conditions were aimed at exposing deals between generics makers and
pharmacists.

“Increasing transparency around the provision of non-price benefits, such as hospitality, entertainment, gifts and
loyalty programs, by pharmaceutical companies will ensure these arrangements are subject to public and professional
scrutiny,” said Samuel.

The ACCC has granted interim authorisation of the code so that the GMiA Complaints Committee can convene to consider a
complaint already lodged against an unnamed member company.

This is believed to be a complaint from Melbourne academic Ken Harvey about the Sigma Rewards loyalty program for
pharmacists.

The ACCC is proposing a three year conditional authorisation, after which GMiA will have to demonstrate to the ACCC how
effective the code has been and how it has been enforced in order to be granted re-authorisation.

MEANWHILE the Consumers Health Forum of Australia (CHF) has welcomed the extra conditions, saying that they will provide
for greater scrutiny of the relationships between pharmacists and the generics medicines industry and “help improve
ethical behaviour.

“We are pleased that the ACCC has listened to our submission that excluding pharmacists did not make sense, given that
the decision to provide a generic medicine is often made by the pharmacist, rather than the doctor or specialist,” said
CHF Exec Director, Carol Bennett.

The CHF did however mention its concern about what it believes are “inconsistencies” between the GMiA code and ‘other
industry codes’ such as the level of sanctions.

“We hope these will be resolved in the current discussions around high level principles for codes of conduct for the
promotion of therapeutic goods,” Bennett added.