BMJ 2015;351:h3909 doi: 10.1136/bmj.h3909 (Published 17 July 2015)
Page 1 of 1
News
NEWS Drug industry paid £41m to UK healthcare professionals last year Jacqui Wise London
In 2014 the pharmaceutical industry paid out an estimated £41m (€59m; $64) to doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals in the United Kingdom for consultancy services and attendance at meetings. This is the last time that such payments to healthcare professionals will be disclosed as a total or aggregate. From 30 June 2016 the industry will report payments to named healthcare professionals, starting with payments made during 2015.1 The information will be on a searchable database managed by the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry and will include payments for categories of activity not currently disclosed in aggregate data.
The new database will include payments to healthcare professionals for their participation in research and development activities with companies, including clinical trials. The database will also include transfers of value to healthcare organisations, including fees for services, contributions towards events, and joint working, in addition to existing requirements to disclose grants and donations. The aggregate spending on certain research and development will also be disclosed. However, the database will still not provide the full picture of interactions with the industry. The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry does not represent medical device companies or private hospital chains, for example, so any payment from these sectors to doctors will not be recorded. And the association does not have the power to compel doctors to make a full disclosure of their conflicts of interest.
The stimulus for this new openness came from Europe after the agreement of a new disclosure code by the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations. The move echoes a similar initiative in the United States, which has launched an
For personal use only: See rights and reprints http://www.bmj.com/permissions
open access database requiring drug and device manufacturers to report all “transfers of value” to healthcare providers and teaching hospitals.2
The £41m in aggregate payments for 2014 was based on information received from 50 of the top 60 member companies of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry. Fees for consultancy services such as speaking at and chairing meetings, participating in advisory board meetings, involvement in medical studies, and undertaking media activity accounted for £30.23m. Sponsorship to attend third party meetings, including fees, international travel, accommodation, and subsistence, accounted for £10.74m. The total was slightly higher than payments made in 2013 (£38.5m in respect of 34 companies) and 2012 (£40m in respect of 35 companies). Virginia Acha, the association’s executive director of research, medical, and innovation, said that relationships with healthcare professionals were vital for developing innovative treatments. “We are committed to being transparent about these relationships, and we have become increasingly more open about the payments being made for these collaborations. This year marks the end of aggregate reporting of payments in this way and heralds the start of an era of even more openness when payments to individual healthcare professionals will be disclosed for a wider range of activities,” she said. 1 2
Coombes R. New year brings new transparency for drug company payments to doctors in UK. BMJ 2015;350:g7748. McCarthy M. Industry paid $6.5bn to US physicians and hospitals in 2014. BMJ 2015;351:h3697.
Cite this as: BMJ 2015;351:h3909 © BMJ Publishing Group Ltd 2015
Subscribe: http://www.bmj.com/subscribe
Page 1 of 1
News
NEWS Drug industry paid £41m to UK healthcare professionals last year Jacqui Wise London
In 2014 the pharmaceutical industry paid out an estimated £41m (€59m; $64) to doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals in the United Kingdom for consultancy services and attendance at meetings. This is the last time that such payments to healthcare professionals will be disclosed as a total or aggregate. From 30 June 2016 the industry will report payments to named healthcare professionals, starting with payments made during 2015.1 The information will be on a searchable database managed by the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry and will include payments for categories of activity not currently disclosed in aggregate data.
The new database will include payments to healthcare professionals for their participation in research and development activities with companies, including clinical trials. The database will also include transfers of value to healthcare organisations, including fees for services, contributions towards events, and joint working, in addition to existing requirements to disclose grants and donations. The aggregate spending on certain research and development will also be disclosed. However, the database will still not provide the full picture of interactions with the industry. The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry does not represent medical device companies or private hospital chains, for example, so any payment from these sectors to doctors will not be recorded. And the association does not have the power to compel doctors to make a full disclosure of their conflicts of interest.
The stimulus for this new openness came from Europe after the agreement of a new disclosure code by the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations. The move echoes a similar initiative in the United States, which has launched an
For personal use only: See rights and reprints http://www.bmj.com/permissions
open access database requiring drug and device manufacturers to report all “transfers of value” to healthcare providers and teaching hospitals.2
The £41m in aggregate payments for 2014 was based on information received from 50 of the top 60 member companies of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry. Fees for consultancy services such as speaking at and chairing meetings, participating in advisory board meetings, involvement in medical studies, and undertaking media activity accounted for £30.23m. Sponsorship to attend third party meetings, including fees, international travel, accommodation, and subsistence, accounted for £10.74m. The total was slightly higher than payments made in 2013 (£38.5m in respect of 34 companies) and 2012 (£40m in respect of 35 companies). Virginia Acha, the association’s executive director of research, medical, and innovation, said that relationships with healthcare professionals were vital for developing innovative treatments. “We are committed to being transparent about these relationships, and we have become increasingly more open about the payments being made for these collaborations. This year marks the end of aggregate reporting of payments in this way and heralds the start of an era of even more openness when payments to individual healthcare professionals will be disclosed for a wider range of activities,” she said. 1 2
Coombes R. New year brings new transparency for drug company payments to doctors in UK. BMJ 2015;350:g7748. McCarthy M. Industry paid $6.5bn to US physicians and hospitals in 2014. BMJ 2015;351:h3697.
Cite this as: BMJ 2015;351:h3909 © BMJ Publishing Group Ltd 2015
Subscribe: http://www.bmj.com/subscribe
