Following Eli Lilly, Merck became the second company to publish their payments to US based speakers for the Third Quarter of 2009.
The report provides data for the 1,078 physicians and other health care professionals who participated in Merck speaking events in the quarter. On average, speakers participated in two programs each with the average payment totaling $1,548 per program. Payments being made in the third and fourth quarters of 2009 will be combined and disclosed in early 2010. Data will be reported annually thereafter.
Additional information about Merck’s financial support of speaker activities conducted on or after July 1, 2009 is available at on the Merck Speaker Payment website.
Merck supports a variety of medical and scientific education initiatives for the purpose of helping health care professionals achieve improved health outcomes for their patients. Merck believes that by delivering balanced medical and scientific information to health care professionals, we contribute to this goal.
Merck selects speakers, many of whom are considered to be medical or scientific leaders in their field, who have knowledge and expertise in the subject matter on which they will be speaking for participation in our programs. These programs are intended to help attendees achieve improved medical results for their patients and are conducted in compliance with FDA regulations and approved product labeling.
Merck’s transparency initiative includes a number of significant steps that have been implemented and that we will be implementing in the coming months.
This initiative is intended to respond to stakeholder feedback and public interest in various aspects of our business, and includes efforts to increase transparency in all major aspects of our operations, from research to sales and marketing practices. You can view more information on Merck’s transparency initiative.
Several other companies have announced intention to disclose payments to healthcare providers including, Pfizer, Medtronic and Glaxo Smith Kline.