Key Topic 1: Sponsorship
Transfers of value can be made to individuals or organisations. Generally, transfers of value fall into the following categories:
AZ may support modest travel, necessary accommodation and registration fees for selected external stakeholders to attend selected independent congresses. For independent congresses involving this type of support, the following requirements must be met
The purpose of the AZ support must be to:
- Enable delegates to attend presentations or participate in scientific exchange or significant developments related to AZ products or uses or related to AZ’s scientific research; and/or
- Support the performance of a contract by (i) providing learning that benefits an ongoing contract-based relationship between AZ and the delegate (for example, as an advisor or investigator) or (ii) preparing the delegate to provide educational services after the congress that have been pre-specified in a contract.
In addition, AZ must not support any individual external stakeholder to attend more than two congresses per calendar year (regardless of the business unit providing the support).
The rationale for selecting each congress and delegate, the list of delegates, the amount of support provided for the delegates, and the delegates’ performance of any related contractual services (where required) must be documented.
Consider this example
In the US in October 2015, Warner Chilcott agreed to plead guilty in the District of Massachusetts to criminal charges that the company committed a felony violation by paying ‘kickbacks’ to physicians throughout the United States to induce them to prescribe its drugs. Other charges included fraud and making unsubstantiated claims for one of its products.
The US government charged that, between 2009 and 2013, Warner Chilcott, through its employees acting at the direction of members of the company’s management team, knowingly and willfully paid remuneration to physicians in order to induce those physicians to prescribe Warner Chilcott drugs.
Among the allegations were the following relating to engagement of speakers and meetings:
“Warner Chilcott provided payments, meals and other remuneration associated with so-called “Medical Education Events,” which included dinners, lunches and receptions. These events, which were often held at expensive restaurants, often contained minimal or no educational component and were instead used to pay prescribing physicians in an attempt to gain a “competitive advantage” over other companies. Warner Chilcott also enlisted high-prescribing physicians as “speakers” for the company. In fact, the “speakers” often did not actually speak about any clinical or scientific topics, and, instead, the payments were primarily intended to induce prescriptions. For instance, Warner Chilcott informed “speakers” who were not prescribing at a high volume that they would not be paid for subsequent events unless their prescribing habits increased.”
Warner Chilcott agreed to pay fines totaling $125 million, and some of its staff faced criminal prosecutions.
