Big pharma backs changes to Sunshine Act

The Sunshine Act requires drug and device manufacturers to disclose to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), on a quarterly basis, anything of value given to physicians, such as payments, gifts, honoraria, or travel. It only applies to companies with annual revenues over $100 million. The Act was sponsored by Senators Charles Grassley (Republican-Iowa) and Herbert Kohl (Democrat-Wisconsin) to create a single, national system for the reporting of information.

Eli Lilly was the first drug major to support the changes to the bill, which raised the payment limit requiring disclosure from $25 to $500, while possible fines have been reduced to $1,000-$50,000 from $10,000-$100,000 for each violation. The modified bill won support even from the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.

Tony Zook, president at AstraZeneca’s US subsidiary, said: “The legislation will create greater transparency around our relationships with physicians, while helping the public understand how we work with healthcare providers.”