In February Senator Grassely requested information from sixteen pharmaceutical and device manufactures around the issue of disclosure of CME grants, the companies got back to him and with a few exceptions most of the respondents answered that they were launching their disclosure systems soon or in the process.
On Friday April 11th, Senator Grassley issued the following statement
Right now, Senator Grassley does not plan to pursue disclosure legislation separate from the Physician Payment Sunshine Act. He will carefully monitor implementation of the disclosure plans described in these letters and consider additional initiatives, including legislation, if transparency is not achieved.
“When it comes to the drug and device industry, the stakes are high for both public safety
and the public purse. Making information about financial relationships open to scrutiny is the
right thing to do. More transparency can do a lot to build confidence in the system and bring
greater accountability,” said U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa.
Copies of letters that Senator Grassley received from drug makers in response to his request from them to follow Eli Lilly’s lead and disclose financial contributions to continuing medical education.
Letters from Companies Bellow:
Letter from Baxter
Letter from Medtronic
Letter from Boston Scientific
Letter from Merck
Letter from Pfizer
Letter from St. Jude Medical
Letter from Abbott Lab
Letter from Amgen
Letter from AstraZeneca
Letter from Bristol Myers Squibb
Letter from J&J
Letter from Schering-Plough
Letter from Stryker
Letter from Wyeth
Letter from Zimmer Holdings