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news.The new version of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry Code of Practice necessitates drugmakers to provide more details about their relationships with health care professionals and patient associations, according to PharmaTimes.
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The revised Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry Code of Practice (ABPI Code), which comes into force from July 1, 2008 includes specific requirements for companies on informing patients about how and where to report adverse drug reactions (ADRs).
The new Code requires companies to include ‘prominent’ information about ADR reporting mechanisms in all promotional materials. This can be done by including a statement such as “Information about adverse event reporting can be found at www.yellowcard.govt.uk” followed by: “adverse events should also be reported to [the relevant pharmaceutical company].”
According to the new Code, companies have to publicize the details of all ongoing clinical trials, sponsorships and their support for patient groups, whether financial or otherwise. The Code also encourages firms to publicize information regarding donations and grants to institutions and other bodies that support health care and research.
Based on the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations’ (EFPIA) revised Code on the Promotion of Prescription-only Medicines to and Interactions with Healthcare Professionals, which was adopted by the EFPIA Board on September 28 2007, and the Federation’s new Code of Practice on Relationships between the Pharmaceutical Industry and Patient Organisations, changes were made to the ABPI Code operated by the Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority.