Physician Payment Sunshine: Astra Zeneca to Report All Payments to Physicians

Beginning this week, there is a significant addition to the AstraZeneca US website – a searchable database that discloses all payments and transfers of value to US-based physicians.

It includes consulting and speaker fees, modest meals and travel in association with contracted services or in conjunction with a product or informational discussion, educational items, pre-clinical or clinical research payments, royalties, license fees, and ownership or investment interests.

According to the company’s blog, they are including both direct payments to physicians, as well as payments made to entities related to a physician at the request of, or on behalf of, that physician. In addition, the database lists certain payments to physicians made through third-party entities, such as clinical research organizations, on behalf of AstraZeneca.

AstraZeneca is also reporting payments to US-based medical and research institutions, hospitals, clinics and group practices for clinical and pre-clinical research. This includes both direct and indirect payments through a contract research organization or academic research organization.  In addition, similar to Eli Lilly, AstraZeneca also provided several reasons to explain why the company is disclosing this information.

Why does AstraZeneca pay physicians and institutions?

The company partners and collaborates with physicians and institutions as part of their responsibility to educate the healthcare community about the approved uses and the safety and efficacy of their medicines so they can provide the best care possible to patients. They also engage with institutions and physicians to conduct scientific and medical research.

Why are they disclosing these payments?

AstraZeneca believes it is important to be open about how they conduct business, and this new reporting expands on a major initiative announced three years ago to provide greater public visibility into how AstraZeneca does business. More information on what AstraZeneca is doing in this area can be found here. On this website, people can find out more information about:

• AZ on the Issues: How AZ is working with health care professionals, patient advocacy groups and policymakers to find solutions to some of the complex health issues facing Americans today
• Community Support: Learn how AZ partners with nonprofit organizations to achieve the shared goal of helping people to live longer, healthier lives, and view biannual reports of their contributions to nonprofit organizations
• Compliance Program: Find details about AstraZeneca’s US Compliance Program, and learn how they are ensuring the highest standards of conduct in all our operations
• Clinical Trials: View details of new and ongoing clinical trials sponsored by AstraZeneca
• Independent Medical Education Grants: View biannual reports of independent medical education grants to educational provider organizations
• Physician Engagement: View a summary of payments and transfers of value to US-based physicians and institutions  
• Political Contributions: View quarterly reports of all political contributions made by employee Political Action Committee (AZPAC), and learn how AstraZeneca is committed to participating in the political process as a responsible corporate citizen
• Postmarketing Study Commitments: View a summary of clinical and preclinical commitments that are currently active for AstraZeneca products

What sorts of payments are being disclosed?

The report includes:

–       Consulting fees

–       Speaker fee

–       Meals

–       Travel

–       Certain educational items

–       Research payments

–       Royalties and license fees, and

–       Ownership and investment interests

What time periods are covered?

Payments and transfers of value that took place in the second quarter of 2011 are included, and these reports will be updated quarterly. Because of delayed reconciliation for certain indirect payments involving third-party vendors, some payments and transfers of value may not be included until a later reporting cycle.

The speaker reports cover compensation to US-based physicians for speaker programs from January 2010 through March 2011.

Why were certain physicians reimbursed for travel and meals?

AstraZeneca reimburses physicians for reasonable meal and travel expenses incurred in connection with speaking, consulting or research engagements.

What are research investigators and institutions being paid for?

AstraZeneca partners with institutions and investigators to conduct research to discover and develop new medicines. Research studies help the company evaluate the safety and effectiveness of potential medicines for patients who need better treatment options. Pharmaceutical companies contract with physicians and academic research centers to perform a variety of work that is critical to the development of new medicines and the sharing of medical information with the goal of improving patient care.

Doctors – who are on the front lines of patient care – also help to identify patients who might be appropriate for clinical trials or provide input to AstraZeneca on how their clinical trials can be designed.

Why might an institution receive millions of dollars?

AstraZeneca partners with institutions and investigators to conduct research to discover and develop new medicines for patients who need better treatment options. Bear in mind that when you look at the total payments to institutions, many of AstraZeneca’s large-scale investigational research trials entail multi-year contracts which are milestone driven.

Quite simply, this means that while certain dollar amounts may have been paid to an institution in a given quarter, the patient care, testing, and monitoring activities provided by that institution may span well beyond that quarter.

Conclusion

Ultimately, the medicines that AstraZeneca and other companies discover and develop and the interactions they have with physicians and institutions play an integral role in the US healthcare system.  Companies take great responsibility for their actions because it is critically important that the public trusts their ability to carry out this responsibility ethically and in the best interest of patient health.

By being open about how companies conduct business, about the safety and risks of their medicines, about their interactions with health care professionals, and their relationships with key stakeholders and partners in the community, companies such as AstraZeneca can help to earn this trust and continue with their mission of helping to improve patients’ health through meaningful medicines. AstraZeneca should be applauded for their leadership in transparency and other companies should be encouraged to follow their example.