There is little doubt that the pharmaceutical industry is one of the most tightly regulated industries. Quite rightly the regulations are there to protect patients and ensure efficacious and thoroughly tested products are developed and brought to market but now pharma companies face new challenges around transparency and building trust. The US is already preparing for the Sunshine Act, which comes into effect in 2013 and will ensure companies disclose interactions and payments to healthcare practitioners. Similarly, the UK has seen the revised UK Bribery Act which came into force in April 2011. Despite the legislation and increased regulatory enforcement designed to prevent corruption and bribery and transform the image of pharma, the perception of the industry remains less than positive.
Other industries that have recently come under similar scrutiny include the media and financial sectors. The current Leveson inquiry is examining journalistic practice and story sourcing and the roles of the media and police in the wake of the phone hacking scandal. The inquiry hopes to investigate the nature of contacts between the press and politicians and the press and the police. It is certainly clear that the regulatory regime for media conduct has fallen short at times but the extent of this failure is yet to be fully determined.
Whilst questions abound of the extent and scope of independent Vs self regulation, the pharma industry is forging ahead with clear and transparent practices and ethics set out and robust frameworks for interactions with healthcare professionals, leading experts and government officials put in place. With the ethics of the British media and financial worlds currently under question, it may be time for other industries to step up to the mark pharma has set?
