RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC--(Marketwire - February 25, 2009) - The recent announcement of yet
another major drug manufacturer's decision to publicize payments to
physicians is the latest sign that transparency in the pharmaceutical
industry is here to stay, according to pharmaceutical intelligence leader
Cutting Edge Information (
www.cuttingedgeinfo.com).
Eli Lilly and Merck announced last September that they both would begin to
publicly report payments to physicians. In the months since those
announcements, GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer have announced similar plans. A
new study by Cutting Edge Information sheds light on what the shift toward
greater transparency means for pharmaceutical companies.
According to Cutting Edge Information's study, "Thought Leader Fair-Market
Value: Compensation Benchmarks and Procedures"
(
http://www.ThoughtLeaderCompensation.com), pharmaceutical companies large
and small are developing strategies that encourage increased transparency
around their thought leader payments.
"Greater transparency will actually help pharmaceutical companies establish
more efficient processes," said Elio Evangelista, research manager at
Cutting Edge Information. "Right now, some executives spend 75% of their
time navigating the various state reporting laws. A more open environment
may eventually lead to more standardization in this area."
Some critics say that physician payment-tracking laws would hinder the
pharmaceutical industry's ability to work with important thought leaders,
but the study shows that surprisingly little has changed thus far. For
pharmaceutical companies, the major challenge posed by increased
transparency is that key opinion leaders and other influential physicians
are, to a large degree, adamantly opposed to the disclosure of their
payments. An industrywide concern is whether increased transparency will
lead to fewer physician relationships, although no surveyed company
indicated that this trend has already begun to happen.
"Thought Leader Fair-Market Value: Compensation Benchmarks and Procedures"
provides thousands of fair-market value benchmarks detailing fees for a
number of thought leader activities, including:
-- Promotional speeches
-- Educational speeches
-- Leading an advisory panel
-- Moderating an advisory panel
-- Participating in an advisory panel
-- Authoring a manuscript
-- Authoring an abstract
The study also features surveyed companies' strategies and processes for
calculating fair-market value payments.
To download a complimentary brochure of the report, go to
http://www.ThoughtLeaderCompensation.com.
Contact Information: CONTACT INFORMATION:
Elio Evangelista
919-433-0214
Jordan Stone
919-433-0376