The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has imposed an important condition on a revised code governing drug companies dealings with doctors.
"The condition will raise the level of transparency about functions sponsored by pharmaceutical companies", ACCC Chairman, Mr Graeme Samuel, said today. "It will require a greater level of detail about the functions including the cost and the type of hospitality provided. The information will also be available to the public, via a website, in a timely manner".
The code which was developed by Medicines Australia, the industry's national association, governs the activities of pharmaceutical companies when they promote prescription medicines to doctors.
It regulates advertising of prescription drugs to the medical profession. Advertising of prescription drugs to consumers is prohibited by the Therapeutic Goods Administration.
The code regulates matters such as drug company sponsorship of medical conferences; the payment of travel and accommodation expenses of doctors attending such conferences; and the provision of other forms of hospitality.
"The ACCC believes the new edition of the code contains some improvements", Mr Samuel said. "However, the ACCC recognises that this is a self regulatory code and thus it is unclear how effective it is in actually regulating drug companies' conduct. The ACCC has required as a condition of authorisation of the code significantly greater level of disclosure and transparency, requiring MA to publish details of all functions sponsored by pharmaceutical companies.
"The condition aims to assist scrutiny of sponsorship activities of pharmaceutical companies by the general public. The ACCC believes the enhanced transparency will bring about greater accountability on the part of pharmaceutical companies in relation to their sponsorship activities and will enable the public to assess whether the code is being effectively enforced".
The code has been re-authorised* for three years. More information regarding the applications and a copy of the determination are available by following the Authorising anti-competitive conduct and Authorisations links.