Pfizer Inc. released detailed information about how and why the company works with a range of healthcare professionals and researchers to advance patient care and develop lifesaving medicines. The information reflects payments or exchanges of value received by licensed U.S. healthcare professionals who consulted with Pfizer about the development and marketing of new medicines and helped to educate other healthcare professionals about the safe and appropriate use of its products. Pfizer's disclosure is the first in the industry to report payments made for conducting Phase I-IV clinical trials in addition to disclosing payments for speaking and consulting.
"Collaboration is essential between healthcare professionals and the pharmaceutical industry to ensure today's scientific advances truly improve the lives of patients. Our work with clinicians makes possible both product development and the steady improvement of medical standards and patient care," said Freda Lewis-Hall, MD, Pfizer's chief medical officer. "Pfizer is committed to ensuring these relationships are transparent to the public and are carefully managed, so that we foster trust and sustain our ability to deliver the breakthroughs patients have come to expect from us."
The report, posted today on www.pfizer.com/WorkingWithHCP, represents data collected from July through December 2009 about work done with approximately 4,500 healthcare professionals resulting in total payments of $35 million for their time and expertise to gain and share real-world experience about the safe and appropriate use of medicines and the development of medical innovations. Pfizer is reporting data for healthcare professionals who received payments, meals or non-monetary educational items worth $25 or more and totaling $500 or more during the six-month reporting period.
Almost 44 percent of the total payments disclosed for the reporting period are associated with Pfizer's collaborations with approximately 250 research organizations to study how medicines work and to discover new medicines to treat and prevent life-threatening and debilitating illnesses. In total, Pfizer reported payments of approximately $15.3 million to these institutions for all new clinical trials initiated after July 1, 2009 as well as clinical trial payments made between July 1 and December 31, 2009 to academic medical centers for ongoing or new research. These payments cover a variety of critical activities including participant recruitment, coordinating and conducting the clinical trials and completing compliance activities to ensure regulatory requirements are met. These payments represent a small portion of Pfizer's total investment in research and development.
Pfizer also reported collaborations with:
- Approximately 1,500 experienced healthcare professionals to provide input and advice to ensure the company addresses the real needs of clinicians and patients. These professionals were compensated an average of $5,000 in return for their time and expertise.
- Approximately 2,800 experienced healthcare professionals who were selected as speakers to educate their peers about health conditions and the safe and appropriate use of Pfizer medicines. These professionals were compensated an average of $3,400 for their work. Both speakers and attendees were also provided meals at these events.
In addition, the data include expenditures for meals and educational items provided to healthcare professionals during engagements with Pfizer's field force or during activities on Pfizer's behalf. In-office meetings between Pfizer representatives and healthcare professionals provide an opportunity for Pfizer to exchange important product knowledge and discuss new or relevant information about its medicines. Reimbursed business-related travel is also detailed in the report and covers the costs incurred by healthcare professional partners related to their work for Pfizer.
Pfizer's disclosures are in line with the healthcare payment reporting provisions outlined in the healthcare reform legislation passed by the House and signed into law by the President last week. These include posting payments made to practicing physicians and other healthcare professionals for consulting and speaking engagements, as well as the value of certain meals and non-monetary items such as pill dispensers, educational materials and anatomical models. Pfizer's disclosures go beyond the requirements of this legislation with the immediate inclusion of payments to principal investigators and institutions for ongoing and new Phase I-IV clinical trials.
In preparing to disclose the details about its financial interactions with healthcare professionals, Pfizer reviewed and categorized more than 180,000 transactions and collaborated with patients, researchers and healthcare professionals to determine the most useful way to convey this information to the public. Based on this feedback, the information is presented in a clear, user-friendly format that allows patients to search for their healthcare professionals using simple tools.
Pfizer will post the next report on March 31, 2011 and include a full year of data for 2010. In accordance with the August 2009 Corporate Integrity Agreement with the Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), effective with the report for 2010, Pfizer will expand its reporting to include the value of all financial interactions including non-monetary items such as meals and educational items, regardless of value. The payment report will be posted quarterly beginning in June 2011.
"Our commitment to publicly sharing the details of our financial relationships is a natural progression of our efforts to better listen to patients and provide greater transparency about our business operations," said Dr. Lewis-Hall. "By providing greater clarity about these payments we hope to establish a better understanding about our collaborations with healthcare professionals."
Pfizer Inc.: Working together for a healthier world™
At Pfizer, we apply science and our global resources to improve health and well-being at every stage of life. We strive to set the standard for quality, safety and value in the discovery, development and manufacturing of medicines for people and animals. Our diversified global health care portfolio includes human and animal biologic and small molecule medicines and vaccines, as well as nutritional products and many of the worldâs best-known consumer products. Every day, Pfizer colleagues work across developed and emerging markets to advance wellness, prevention, treatments and cures that challenge the most feared diseases of our time. Consistent with our responsibility as the worldâs leading biopharmaceutical company, we also collaborate with healthcare professionals, governments and local communities to support and expand access to reliable, affordable health care around the world. For more than 150 years, Pfizer has worked to make a difference for all who rely on us. To learn more about our commitments, please visit us at www.pfizer.com.