Let the Sunshine Part 3 – Taking it on the Road: Transparency Outside the U.S.

The past two days have been focused on The Physician Payment Sunshine provisions of the Patient Protection Affordable Care Act in the U.S. which will require the reporting of financial relationships between medical product manufacturers and medical providers by 2013.

The trend toward greater transparency is not unique to the U.S. though approaches vary.  In Australia, for example, there is a self-regulating approach under the Medicines Australia Code of Conduct whereby companies engaged in promotion of prescription products report twice a year on financial support and that information is collected and uploaded onto a web site where it is available for the public.

Similarly in the U.K., the patient benefit will be permitted.

France, however, is in the process of taking a more comprehensive approach. There legislation was recently proposed and passed in the French General Assembly that would take a number of steps not only to increase transparency but also limit pharmaceutical marketing practices more broadly vis a vis medical professionals and institutions.  This legislation is so comprehensive in scope that it brings change to the way drugs are approved in France and the use of experts to assist in regulatory decisions and the way that company sales representatives go about their jobs.  The legislation will shortly go before the French Senate.

Because it is more far reaching than our the provisions of The Physician Payment Sunshine Act, I sought in-country perspective from a colleague of mine – Caroline Marchetti, a Senior Vice President and Partner in the Paris office of Fleishman Hillard.  In the following podcast, Caroline talks about the far reaching scope of the legislation, the potential impact, and lastly insights into considerations for medical product manufacturers with respect to their marketing in the future.

My thanks to Caroline and to other colleagues around the world who provided me with input for this posting.  Enjoy the podcast with Caroline!

[audio:http://eyeonfda.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Marchetti_Edited__2__201110251414031.mp3|titles=Marchetti_Edited__2__201110251414031]
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