IPCAA NEWSLETTER
Edition 33 - Regulatory Aspects Driving Changes
The need to continue to promote and create awareness of trends and current developments driven by industry regulatory codes was again reinforced at recent meetings between industry representatives and other bodies and individuals engaged in the organisation of medical congresses.
In the last few years, the demand for more transparency and corporate compliance (business integrity) has grown as a result of both increased public scrutiny and media interest in the pharmaceutical industry and pressures from new stakeholders such as Patient Organisations, Regulators, Policy Makers and also EC Directives.
Most industry codes, be they international, regional or national, tend to be worded in somewhat generalised terms such as “non-luxury”, “modest”, “reasonable” with respect to hospitality. As a result continuing pressure on the pharmaceutical sector is leading to more and more companies defining their own internal financial limits for hospitality – a step which inevitably impacts on allowable expenditure at congresses.
As the distinction between “promotion” and “medical education” becomes more difficult especially since EC Directives, EFPIA and national codes are not totally clear in this regard, reduction of sponsors´ promotional opportunities clearly impacts on the meetings environment.
Due to the dynamic situation in terms of pharmaceutical industry codes development and modification, and implementation into corporation-specific policies, there are sometimes claims of “inconsistency”. This can of course lead to frustrations, but future convergence of company policies in general terms may be expected.
The belief that exists in some quarters, that continuing implementation of corporate financial limitations based on industry codes, is a threat to the wellbeing of medical societies, indicates a need to acknowledge, not only a changed business environment, but the benefits to be obtained from building a strong long-term partnership between medical societies and the healthcare industry. Such a relationship should have as its roots more than just financial/funding aspects via an annual congress and should respond to the current and future needs of healthcare professionals and their patients.
“we need to re-engineer congresses and relations and interactions between industry and academics and bring medical societies´ activity more prominently to the public stage”
Industry would certainly incline to the view that reassessment and restructuring of the long term relationship and interaction between all those involved in medical education, research, promotion of new techniques and procedures and other aspects of congresses as they are understood today, is highly advisable, as regulatory and financial constraints continue to bite.
