Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Pfizer plans to let the sunshine in (in 2010)


Pfizer said Monday it will begin disclosing all sizable payments it makes to doctors, including those who test experimental drugs in people, a first for the industry.

The disclosures would begin early next year and are planned to include all payments to medical personnel who prescribe drugs — doctors, physician's assistants and nurse-practitioners — exceeding $500 in a year, the New York-based company told The Associated Press.

The move comes after introduction last month of legislation to require such disclosures, and revelations of astronomical payments to some doctors that were not revealed to universities and hospitals that employed them.

"It's very important that we earn the trust of patients and the public," Pfizer Chief Executive Jeffrey Kindler said in an interview from Chicago, where he planned to announce the new initiative at an economics conference Monday evening.

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