The drug and medical devices companies, in order to expand the market for their products, have been influencing doctors with consulting fees, free foreign trips and sponsoring educational conferences. The financial ties between the companies and the doctors had always remained a closely guarded secret but things are going to change soon. Threatened with regulation from the US Congress, the drugs and medical devices companies have promised to reveal the details of their grants to outside groups.
Last year Sen. Herb kohl introduced the Physicians Payments Sunshine Act that started an inquiry to get knowledge about the payments made by the drug and medical devices companies to doctors. Sen. Charles Grassley is now getting answers back from the 15 companies he called on to make their corporate donations public. Grassley’s inquiry was spurred by drug maker Eli Lily’s decision in 2005 to disclose all its charitable giving and the scope of funding to patient’s advocacy groups. Grassley wanted to know whether the other companies were willing to follow Eli Lily.
The companies have reacted positively and have agreed to disclose grants for education and some of them have even agreed to disclose payments made to patient advocacy groups such as the American Heart Association and the American Diabetes Association. However, Schering-Plough Corp told the senator that it had no plans to disclose its list of charitable contributions or educational grants they have disbursed. It remains to be seen whether the disclosures will voluntarily be made or this is a joined effort by the companies to derail the congressional legislation that would make it legally binding on the companies to disclose their grants.
Source: yahoonews
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