Polaris has reported that Frumtök, the Icelandic Association of the Pharmaceutical Industry, has adopted the EFPIA Disclosure Code. Indeed, the Association’s website reveals that though Frumtök is “not a formal member of EFPIA we acknowledge the Disclosure Code and fully implement it, as we have done with the EFPIA HCP Code.” The announcement states that the Code came into force January 1, 2015. Frumtök has 18 member companies.
As we have outlined in a number of articles, the EFPIA Disclosure code imposes Sunshine Act-like transparency obligations on all EFPIA members companies; currently there are 34 full members. The Code generally requires each member to document and disclose transfers of value made directly or indirectly to healthcare professionals and healthcare organizations. The first reporting period started January 1, 2015, with disclosure by June 30, 2016.
Jakob Falur Garðarsson, the Association’s head, announced the changes in December, stating:
Implementation of the Disclosure Code is on track. We’ve had several meetings presenting the purpose and basic framework of the Code. The Code is clearly raising some questions within the HCPs community but the reactions, f.ex. from the heads of the National Hospital is both promising and positive. The Hospital’s governors and the Board of the Hospital’s Committee of Doctors accept and agree with the fundamentals of the Code and will actively help us promoting the Code. Similarly, we have received positive reaction from the Icelandic Medical Association.
Our member companies are understandingly asking how disclosure will be solved in Iceland. It is clear that each company will make its own decisions regarding its disclosures, but it has been decided that we will offer our member companies the service of publishing the Disclosure Reports on our website. The official EFPIA Disclosure template, The Template, has been translated in to Icelandic and will be made available for those who request it.