Services - Pharma Cooperation Code

Disclosure of cooperation grants

12.09.2024

Transparency is the key to the creation of confidence in relations with the general public and patients. That is why the European pharmaceutical industry discloses the pecuniary benefits provided between the pharmaceutical industry and stakeholders in the healthcare sector.

The exchange between the pharmaceutical industry and the actors in the health care system is essential for the research of new treatments and the further development of proven therapies. This is the only way to improve the quality of medical care for patients. The pharmaceutical industry is aware that relations with healthcare providers take place in a sensitive area.

This is why the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) adopted its new EFPIA Disclosure Code on 24 June 2013. Based on this, scienceindustries, as the responsible association in Switzerland, drew up the Pharma Cooperation Code (PKK), which came into force in January 2014. The partner associations Intergenerika, Interpharma and vips have also subscribed to the PCC.

What commitment have the PCC signatory companies made?
Since 2016, the signatory companies disclose each year on their websites accessible to the public the pecuniary benefits which they granted in the previous year to professionals (primarily physicians and pharmacists) as well as healthcare organizations (in particular hospitals and research institutes).

Which benefits are disclosed?
The term pecuniary benefits as defined by the PCC means remuneration granted either directly or indirectly in connection with pharmaceuticals for human medicine available on prescription only. The disclosure includes payments made e.g. for consultancy and the provision of services, financial support for research and development in the healthcare sector and cost contributions for the attendance of professionals at events.

There are few exceptions from the obligation to disclose pecuniary benefits, e.g.:

normal commercial compensation for professionals when pharmaceuticals are ordered and delivered as well as cooperations in connection with the assumption of logistics costs
delivery of pharmaceutical samples without payment to professionals within the limits of the official recommendations
information and training materials of modest value
payment for meals (including beverages)

How is disclosure effected?
To achieve a high degree of transparency, disclosure should take place individually, i.e. naming the recipients in person. This requires the consent of the persons or organizations concerned to such disclosure. For this purpose, the cooperation agreements between the companies and these professional persons and organizations must include a consent clause. If a person or organisation refuses to give consent, the names of payment recipients may not be disclosed.

Disclosure of cooperation payments in 2024

The signatory companies to the PCC disclosed the following total cooperation payments for 2023:

- CHF 8.1 million to healthcare professionals
- CHF 128.3 million to healthcare organisations
- CHF 105.9 million for research & development
- Around CHF 242.3 million in total

In 2023, cooperation payments to healthcare professionals increased by around CHF 730'000 compared to the previous year. The return to more cooperation between healthcare professionals and companies is continuing, after the decline iduring the coronavirus pandemic. However, the pre-pandemic level (more than CHF 11 million) has still not been reached. This is probably due not least to the continuing trend of a shift in direct support to healthcare professionals towards healthcare organisations.

Cooperation grants to healthcare organisations rose again accordingly to over CHF 128 million. Payments for research & development increased last year by around CHF 17 million to a total of almost CHF 106 million. These grants fluctuate considerably from year to year at the individual companies, which is probably due to the changing intensity of activities in the area of clinical research.

Below, the key figures are listed pertaining to the disclosure of cooperation payments in Switzerland for the individual signatory companies of the PCC over the last three years:

The proportion of donations disclosed under individual naming of recipients has again increased. On average, the consent rate among professionals was 94.9% (median 100%). This development is in line with the industry's goal of continuously increasing transparency in this area of cooperation. More than half of the disclosing companies now achieve fully individualised transparency. The consent rate among professional organisations also increased again and now averages 98.0%. The median here again came in at 100%, meaning that at least half of the PCC signatory companies show consent rates of 100% for HCO. These averages were calculated on the basis of the individually disclosed number of recipients in relation to all recipients. If the consent rates are related to the disclosed sums, then they are somewhat lower on average, as in the previous year.

The following companies reported consent rates for healthcare professionals of less than 80%:

- ALK-Abelló
- Almirall
- Daiichi-Sankyo
- Grünenthal
- Norgine

It should be noted that the vast majority of companies have maintained their individual disclosure rates at a high level or have been able to clearly improve them, which is gratifying in view of the effort involved. Only a few companies achieved consent rates of less than 80% in relation to professionals. The Code Secretariat is reaching out on an individual basis to the listed companies to support them in raising their consent rates and thus further strengthen the positive development of the transparency initiative since its inception.

Further information on the subject: