The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission proposes to grant conditional authorisation for three years to the second edition of the Generic Medicines Industry Association's Code of Practice.
The code is intended to provide a formal system of self-regulation for the supply of generic medicines. It provides a self-regulatory framework for the relationship between generic pharmaceutical companies and healthcare professionals.
"While the ACCC is proposing to grant authorisation, this is subject to conditions to provide greater transparency around the relationship between the manufacturers of generic medicines and pharmacists," ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel said today.
One condition proposes to extend the public reporting requirements in the code, which currently only applies to the hospitality and entertainment provided at educational events for medical practitioners, to also apply to events for pharmacists.
A second proposed condition is designed to provide high level disclosure around the nature and value of the gifts and other non-price incentives provided by manufacturers to pharmacists as an incentive for the pharmacist to stock their brand of product.
"Increasing transparency around the provision of non-price benefits, such as hospitality, entertainment, gifts and loyalty programs, by pharmaceutical companies will ensure these arrangements are subject to public and professional scrutiny."
The GMiA Code is newly developed and as such the ACCC is proposing to review the authorisation after three years. Should the GMiA seek authorisation at the end of this time it will be important for the GMiA to demonstrate how the code has been enforced and how effective it has been in regulating member behaviour in the areas governed by the code.
The ACCC has also decided to grant interim authorisation so that the Complaints Committee can convene to consider a recently lodged complaint against a member company under the code. The code imposes timeframes for dealing with complaints and interim authorisation will enable it to carry out this function while the ACCC is considering the substantive applications.
Authorisation provides protection from court action for conduct that might otherwise raise concerns under the competition provisions of the Trade Practices Act 1974. Broadly, the ACCC may grant an authorisation when it is satisfied that the public benefit from the conduct outweighs any public detriment.
The ACCC's draft determination will be available from the Authorisations register on the ACCC website, www.accc.gov.au/AuthorisationsRegister
The ACCC invites submissions from interested parties in relation to the draft determination before making its final decision. Parties wishing to make submissions should do so by 20 August 2010. Please refer to the website for further information about making a submission to the ACCC.