Key Topic 3: Declaring company involvement
A declaration is required on meeting materials which adequately describes the level of involvement of pharmaceutical companies.
The declaration should be prominent and clear enough such that readers are aware from the outset.
Similarly meeting materials should not mislead as to the nature of the meeting.
Consider this example
The head of prescribing at a primary care trust (PCT) in the UK complained about an invitation sent by AstraZeneca inviting delegates to a meeting about the future statin strategy for a local strategic health authority (SHA). The front page included the statement ‘Sponsored by an educational grant from AstraZeneca’
The complainant noted that the front page twice referred to the local SHA, however this meeting was not organised or in any way connected to the SHA. It appeared from the front page that the local SHA was operating the meeting with support and sponsorship from AstraZeneca which was misleading.
The Panel noted that AstraZeneca designed the meeting specifically to address the needs of the local SHA in the light of the recently issued Department of Health (DoH) statin agenda. It was thus not unreasonable to refer to the SHA in the title and description of the meeting.
The Panel felt that from the front page some readers might assume that AstraZeneca had sponsored a meeting on behalf of the SHA. This was not so. The meeting was solely under the direction of AstraZeneca. The Panel considered that the layout and content of the front page did not give clear information about AstraZeneca’s role. In that regard high standards had not been maintained and a breach of the Code was ruled.
