WILMINGTON, Del., July 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- AstraZeneca (NYSE:
AZN) announced today that it fully supports PhRMA's revised code guiding
the pharmaceutical industry's interactions with healthcare providers,
including new guidelines on promotional items, meals and sponsorship of
meetings.
The company is taking this step to increase its focus on activities
that directly help healthcare providers improve the health of their
patients. The new code takes effect January 1, 2009.
"The revised code complements our philosophy that any interaction with
healthcare providers should be about providing information that helps them
decide on the right medicines, for the right patients, at the right time,"
said Rich Fante, Vice President of Brand and Portfolio Operations at
AstraZeneca. "We are in favor of changes that benefit patient care."
Under the new code, AstraZeneca will make the following changes:
Promotional items: In 2009, AstraZeneca's U.S. sales representatives
will no longer distribute "reminder" items such as pens, pads of paper,
tissues and hand soap as part of sales calls to healthcare providers.
AstraZeneca sales representatives may still offer items designed for the
education of patients or healthcare providers if they are not of
substantial value, are offered infrequently and comply with all applicable
laws. Examples include teaching models of organs or arteries, adherence
materials, or patient assistance information.
Meals: Also in 2009, AstraZeneca U.S. sales representatives no longer
will take healthcare providers to restaurants for meals. They still will be
permitted to bring modest and occasional meals in healthcare offices and
hospital settings for informational presentations, as well as participate
in speaker programs that are held in public venues. These presentations
provide up-to-date information on AstraZeneca products and other issues
impacting patient care; ideally the timing of these presentations often
occur at lunch time in an effort to eliminate any conflict with patient
time.
Sponsorship of Meetings: AstraZeneca will continue to support
Independent Medical Education (IME) events for healthcare professionals. As
in the past, this support will be in the form of a grant to an independent
provider and AstraZeneca will provide no guidance regarding content or
faculty. Finally, AstraZeneca will not provide direct support for a meal at
IME events.
AstraZeneca aligns with several of the guidelines set in the revised
PhRMA code as part of our sales and marketing practices today. These
principles include our practice of no entertainment for healthcare
providers; limitations on the use of prescriber data; and most notably, the
extensive training of and focus on the conduct of our sales representatives
to ensure we compete with integrity and ethics. Please visit http://www.phrma.org
for more information on the new code.
About AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca is a major international healthcare business engaged in the
research, development, manufacturing and marketing of meaningful
prescription medicines and supplier for healthcare services. AstraZeneca is
one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies with healthcare sales
of $29.55 billion and is a leader in gastrointestinal, cardiovascular,
neuroscience, respiratory, oncology and infectious disease medicines. In
the United States, AstraZeneca is a $13.35 billion dollar healthcare
business with 12,200 employees committed to improving people's lives.
AstraZeneca is listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (Global) as
well as the FTSE4Good Index. For more information visit
http://www.astrazeneca-us.com.
SOURCE AstraZeneca
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Related links:
http://www.astrazeneca-us.com
http://www.phrma.org
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/985887.html /
CONTACT:
Leslie Pott, +1-302-885-6453, or Tony Jewell,
+1-302-885-4594, both of AstraZeneca
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