This week, Genentech announced that effective August 16, 2010, the company will begin voluntarily disclosing the funding details of their independent medical education grants and charitable contributions on their corporate web site. The company made this decision to help “uphold the highest standards of integrity in the way the company conducts business,” and therefore fully support the industry movement toward increased transparency of financial relationships.
Each quarter, the company will post reports summarizing this funding beginning with the first quarter of 2010. Report details will include the recipient organization’s name, the program title and the funding amount. Specifically, Genentech will disclose two types of funding information:
– Grants to organizations that provide medical education to healthcare providers to increase healthcare knowledge and advance patient care; and
– Financial data about charitable contributions to 501(c)(3), not-for-profit organizations, including support for patient education and advocacy.
Consequently, Genentech joins a growing group of pharmaceutical companies to voluntarily begin disclosing payments regarding industry funded education.
With companies posting payments prior to the implementation of the Sunshine Act and federal regulations, these reports shows that companies are committed to transparency and are taking steps to show their support for the education of health care providers.