Healthy Skepticism Library item: 7359

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Publication type: news

Gerlin A.
Drugmakers Can't Lavish Gifts on Doctors, Group Says
Bloomberg.com 2007 Jan 3
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601202&sid=aoEmH8oSS81Y&refer=healthcare

Full text:

Jan. 3 (Bloomberg) — Pharmaceutical companies can no longer lavish gifts on doctors to sway prescribing practices, the trade group that represents the world’s largest drugmakers said today.

Companies that belong to the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations must adhere to a revised code of ethics that bars them from giving doctors money or other gifts that might influence drug choices, such as paying for trips to golf resorts or luxury hotels. The code, updated Jan. 1 for the first time in a decade, applies to the group’s 26 member companies, including Pfizer Inc., and hundreds of other drugmakers that belong to its 46 industry associations.

``What we’re trying to do is prevent as many of the activities as possible that have not helped the reputation of the industry,’‘ IFPMA Director General Harvey E. Bale said in a telephone interview. ``We need to make sure the product is the best product for the patient and it’s not influenced by gifts and it’s not influenced by hospitality or vacations.’‘

Large pharmaceutical companies spend about one-third of their revenue on sales and marketing, much of it aimed at doctors. The resulting entanglements between the companies and doctors have become widespread, Bale said. Studies cited in the British Medical Journal have found that the relationships influence doctors’ prescribing behavior.

The IFPMA has also assembled a network of industry sources who will serve as its ``eyes and ears’‘ and a panel of compliance experts to hear complaints and appeals, Bale said. The federation will publicize practices that violate the 21-page code.

Stanford Ban

The group’s members also include drugmakers GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Sanofi-Aventis SA, Eli Lilly & Co., AstraZeneca Plc, Merck & Co. and Novartis AG.

Merck’s U.K. unit was reinstated to a different trade group, the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, after a three-month suspension for violating the organization’s ethics policy. The unit was suspended Oct. 2 after supplying extra services to doctors prescribing its Cozaar heart treatment.

U.S. academic medical centers at Stanford University, Yale University and the University of Pennsylvania have banned doctors from accepting industry gifts in a bid to limit outside companies’ influence. Stanford’s ban extends to free meals, drug samples, pens and sponsorship of continuing medical education, according to the university’s Web site.

Stethoscopes as Gifts

The IFPMA’s new code limits companies to gifts that are work-related and of modest value, such as stethoscopes or medical dictionaries, Bale said. Arthur Caplan, director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, said these items should be banned, too.

``There’s no reason to be giving away anything,’‘ he said in a telephone interview. ``If they want to have marketing and education separate, then leave aside the stethoscope, key ring or pen because that is pure marketing.’‘

Also covered in the IFPMA’s revised code are the locations of medical and scientific meetings. These events shouldn’t be held in ``renowned or extravagant venues’‘ and the hospitality shouldn’t exceed what doctors would normally be willing for pay themselves, according to the code.

``They used to have a fair number of what could be described as junkets, so what they’re saying is knock it off,’‘ Caplan said.

The new document doesn’t regulate direct-to-consumer advertising or drug trials, unless a violation of other principles is involved, Bale said.