ABPI responds to the investigation by The Times into ‘secret payments’ by pharma companies

The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) has responded to an investigation performed by The Times into ‘secret payments’ worth millions made by two major pharma companies to healthcare professionals (HCPs) and organisations (HCOs).

The investigation, which was recently published by the newspaper, found that nearly €25 million was paid anonymously by AstraZeneca and Shire to various HCPs and HCOs across Europe. These payments were attributed to expenses such as consultancy fees and travel and expenses for company sponsored events.

In response to these findings Karen Borrer, the ABPI’s head of Corporate Communication and lead for Disclosure UK — the pharma industry’s database of payments and benefits in kind made to UK HCPs and HCOs — released a statement:

“Pharmaceutical companies work with healthcare professionals and organisations to research and develop medicines and treatments to improve the health and wellbeing of patients. Under the ABPI Code of Practice, companies must publish details of payments and benefits in kind which HCPs and HCOs receive in relation to this work, either against individual HCPs where they have permission to do so, or as a total sum where they do not.

“Data privacy legislation enables individual HCPs to withhold their consent for companies to publish details of payments and benefits in kind. Where this happens, companies must balance the rights of the individual with the self-regulatory responsibility for improved transparency.

“Details of industry’s payments and benefits in kind are published annually and are available on the publicly accessible Disclosure UK portal. Last year, 65% of HCPs gave their permission for companies to publish details of the payments and benefits in kind they received from industry and 82% of payments and benefits in kind not related to R&D were disclosed on a named, individual healthcare professional and organisation basis.

“Whilst we are pleased with this level of openness from these individual HCPs, we are committed to improving transparency through self-regulation and are working closely with NHS England, Royal Colleges and professional bodies to encourage even more UK healthcare professionals to disclose details of payments and benefits in kind they receive from industry.”

The research by The Times specifically looked at three of the biggest pharma companies on the London Stock Exchange and their respective, comparable payments across 27 countries.

Speaking to the newspaper about the research Ben Goldacre, director of the evidence-based medicine data lab at Oxford University, stressed that transparency is vital in the industry. “[The public] need to know if someone who praises a drug is getting money from the company,” he said. “The state has chosen not to invest in disseminating unbiased evidence to doctors. So, industry has stepped into that gap. Doctors commonly turn to free ‘educational’ activities, delivered by ‘key opinion leaders’ paid by industry. I doubt there are many doctors who completely change their opinions about treatments in exchange for a cheque, but it’s a temptation that some cave in to.”

In the same article, a spokesman for Astrazeneca said: “Scientific and clinical insight exchange with the medical community is both important and relevant. All of our interactions are conducted in an ethical manner and with full transparency, and in line with the EFPIA Code.”

And a spokesman for Shire said it was “committed to making public the details of all payments and other transfers of value made to healthcare professionals and healthcare organisations, and has been fully complying since this requirement was put in place.”