[Ip-health] PhRMA won't disclose charitable donations

[Sarah Rimmington]

PhRMA Won=92t Disclose Charitable Donations
September 12th, 2007 7:38 am By Ed Silverman

http://www.pharmalot.com/2007/09/phrma-wont-disclose-charitable-donations/

The position by the trade group is revealed in a letter written by Billy Ta=
uzin, PhRMA=92s ceo, to Essential Action, one of several advocacy groups th=
at are pushing drugmakers to disclose their global contributions. The reaso=
n? Concern that charitable and educational donations result in off-label ma=
rketing by groups receiving funds mask the agendas of public policy groups =
that debate policy issues, and allow researchers to circumvent normal discl=
osure requirements.

Two months ago, the groups wrote the ceo of each drugmaker and large trade =
group asking them to commit to full disclosure on a worldwide basis. Since =
then, Lilly agreed, expanding an earlier promise to reveal all US donations=
. But the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Associat=
ions declined, saying disclosure should be made on a national level.

Tauzin used similar reasoning. =93Member companies should make individual d=
ecisions regarding how they work together and communicate about their work =
to others,=94 he wrote. Meanwhile, Pfizer=92s Richard Bagger, senior vp of =
ww public policy, wrote that the drugmaker is taking disclosure steps in th=
e US and the UK, but stopped short of commiting to a global effort. And Sch=
ering-Plough ceo Fred Hassan wrote back that he=92s instructed his team to =
undertake a =93thorough review=94 of the suggestion.

In response, Essential Action=92s Rob Weissman says that Pfizer will be urg=
ed to follow through and to disclose other kinds of charitable donations, e=
specially support to policy advocacy organizations and think tanks. =93The =
announcement by the world=92s largest drug maker that it is prepared to dis=
close its funding of patient groups and medical education further undermine=
s the never-credible claims that such disclosures are infeasible.=94

But he had harsh words for Tauzin, and noted that PhRMA maintains various c=
odes, covering continuing medical education, among other things. =93Billy T=
auzin=92s position is that PhRMA as a trade association has no role in sett=
ing a standard for industry disclosure practice. It is hard to take this se=
riously as anything other than a brush off,=94 says Weissman. =93The cascad=
ing series of scandals and outrages involving industry misuse of charitable=
 and educational contributions demands, at the very least, an industry poli=
cy of disclosure.=94

--
Sarah Rimmington
Attorney
Essential Action, Access to Medicines Project
Washington, DC
Tel: (202) 387-8030
Cell: (202) 422-2687
www.essentialaction.org/access/