PhRMA Statement on the Senate Sunshine Act
PhRMA Statement on the Senate Sunshine Act
Washington, D.C. (May 22, 2008) — Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) today issued the following statement about the Physician Payments Sunshine Act.
“I am pleased to inform Senator Kohl and Senator Grassley that PhRMA believes the transparency provisions in the new revised bill are acceptable,” PhRMA President & CEO Billy Tauzin said today.
PhRMA commends efforts by Senators Kohl and Grassley to improve transparency while preserving the critical interactions with health care providers that help in developing new medicines and enhancing patient care.”
Tauzin continued, “PhRMA believes that appropriate transparency in relationships between pharmaceutical research companies and physicians is an important ingredient and helps build and maintain trust by patients in the healthcare system.”
America’s pharmaceutical research and biotechnology companies provide critical educational information about their medicines and physicians benefit from this information in understanding new treatment options, appropriate dosing, emerging safety developments, and potential product interactions. Similarly, the relationships between pharmaceutical companies and physicians are critical to the development of new medicines and their testing.
Commenting on the revised bill, Richard Clark, PhRMA Chairman and Chairman and CEO, Merck & Co., Inc., said today, “We need to go the extra mile to allow others to see what we do, so that the public can place greater trust in us, and in our medicines and vaccines. I believe that this bill will help build a stronger foundation of trust.”
In a letter sent to the senators, PhRMA stated that its acceptance of the bill is conditioned on the continued inclusion of the provision that preempts state law.
“PhRMA believes that preempting local and state marketing reporting or disclosure laws that have been enacted or are pending avoids a confusing myriad of local, state and federal requirements that confuse patients accessing the information and are overly burdensome and costly for those required to report,” Tauzin stressed in the letter.
The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) represents the country’s leading pharmaceutical research and biotechnology companies, which are devoted to inventing medicines that allow patients to live longer, healthier, and more productive lives. PhRMA companies are leading the way in the search for new cures. PhRMA members alone invested an estimated $44.5 billion in 2007 in discovering and developing new medicines. Industry-wide research and investment reached a record $58.8 billion in 2007.
PhRMA Internet Address: www.phrma.org
For information on stories of hope and survival, visit: http://sharingmiracles.com/
PhRMA en Español: www.nuestraphrma.org
For information on how innovative medicines save lives, visit: www.innovation.org
For information on the Partnership for Prescription Assistance, visit: www.pparx.org
For information on the danger of imported drugs, visit: www.buysafedrugs.info
“PhRMA believes that preempting local and state marketing reporting or disclosure laws that have been enacted or are pending avoids a confusing myriad of local, state and federal requirements that confuse patients accessing the information and are overly burdensome and costly for those required to report,” Tauzin stressed in the letter.
The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) represents the country’s leading pharmaceutical research and biotechnology companies, which are devoted to inventing medicines that allow patients to live longer, healthier, and more productive lives. PhRMA companies are leading the way in the search for new cures. PhRMA members alone invested an estimated $44.5 billion in 2007 in discovering and developing new medicines. Industry-wide research and investment reached a record $58.8 billion in 2007.
PhRMA Internet Address: www.phrma.org
For information on stories of hope and survival, visit: http://sharingmiracles.com/
PhRMA en Español: www.nuestraphrma.org
For information on how innovative medicines save lives, visit: www.innovation.org
For information on the Partnership for Prescription Assistance, visit: www.pparx.org
For information on the danger of imported drugs, visit: www.buysafedrugs.info