GlaxoSmithKline published a list of fees paid between April 1 and June 30 to U.S. healthcare professionals for speaking and consulting services. GSK will update this list quarterly going forward. The healthcare professional fee listing (posted in the "Responsibility" section of the website at www.us-gsk.com or www.gsk.com) includes the names of approximately 3,700 U.S. physicians and other healthcare professionals. In total, GSK paid $14.6 million to US healthcare professionals during the period to speak on behalf of GSK or to provide consulting services to the company. The average amount spent per healthcare professional in this report was $3,909.
"Healthcare professionals bring knowledge and perspective from their experiences that they share with us and other healthcare professionals as we work to improve patient care," said Deirdre Connelly, GSKâs President North America Pharmaceuticals. "These are professionals who should be fairly compensated for the services and expertise they provide. There are strict guidelines about how we work together."
Other initiatives taken by GSK in 2009 to increase transparency to its work include:
- Reporting payments to US healthcare professionals or their affiliated institutions for conducting research - GSK announced in March that the company would publish payments made to US healthcare professionals and/or their institutions for conducting research. The first publication will take place in 1Q2011.
- Posting all observational studies, meta-analyses and studies of terminated compounds on the GSK Clinical Study Register - In January, GSK began posting this broader range of study results on the GSK Register. GSK already posted on the register the results of all Phase l-lV clinical trials of marketed medicines and the results of certain observational studies and studies of terminated compounds.
- Committing to publish all clinical research results in the scientific literature - GSK will publish all clinical research of its medicines either as manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals or, when studies are not published, provide context and interpretation via the GSK Clinical Study Register to supplement the result summary which is posted. This initiative took effect in January.
- Reporting clinical trial investigator names and institutions - Since January 2009, the names of the principal investigators participating in GSK-sponsored clinical trials, together with the institutions they are working in, have been included in the protocol summary for new studies posted to the GSK Clinical Study Register.
"We take very seriously the trust placed in us by patients and healthcare professionals to abide by the highest ethical standards," Connelly said. "Our actions this year give the public more information to evaluate whether we are indeed living up to these standards."
GSK already publishes a quarterly report listing grants and sponsorships to US-based health-related organizations. This report includes grants to organizations such as hospitals, teaching institutions, managed care organizations, professional associations, patient advocacy groups, and continuing medical education companies located in the US and Puerto Rico. The grants fund programs and organizations to foster increased understanding of scientific, clinical, and healthcare issues, and contribute to improving patient care. As of Jan. 1, 2010, GSK will no longer fund programs by medical education communication companies.
GlaxoSmithKline - one of the world's leading research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies - is committed to improving the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer. For further information please visit www.gsk.com.