Pharmaceutical companies set a record for investment in collaborations with the healthcare system through R&D and support for lifelong learning
Last year, the sector contributed 313 million euros for organisations and healthcare professionals to participate in research and development activities for new treatments
For the eighth consecutive year, the companies adhering to Farmaindustria’s Code of Good Practice have made public their collaborations with the sector’s agents
“The interaction between the pharmaceutical industry and healthcare professionals and organisations is essential for the quality of healthcare provision,” reminds USD Director José Zamarriego
Source: farmaindustria.es
The pharmaceutical companies based in Spain that are adhered to Farmaindustria’s Code of Good Practices have recently published the collaborations with healthcare organisations and professionals carried out in 2022. This activity is one of the essential pillars of this sector’s commitment to biomedical research and the quality of healthcare provision in our country and is the best proof of its commitment to transparency, as this is the eighth consecutive year in which the figures have been made public.
According to data compiled by Farmaindustria’s Deontological Supervision Unit (USD), the pharmaceutical industry contributed €313 million in 2022 to remunerate healthcare organisations and professionals for their participation in research and development activities for new treatments, which represents a record investment in this chapter, €26 million higher than the figure for 2021.
Companies also earmarked 218 million euros to support continuing education activities. Of these 218 million devoted to training, 130 million went to healthcare organisations responsible for scientific-professional meetings and congresses and 88 million corresponded to aid for healthcare professionals to facilitate their participation in this type of meeting. This item has returned to levels similar to those of the years prior to the pandemic, a period in which a large part of the activities could not be carried out or were carried out telematically.
In addition to the aforementioned areas of research and training, there are two other items: the provision of professional services, with a global value of 92 million euros, and donations, which can only go to health organisations and which amounted to 44 million in 2022.
“The publication of this data is a consequence of the transparency initiative of this sector in Europe, incorporated in 2014 to the Code of Good Practices of the Pharmaceutical Industry in Spain, and which materialised with the first publication in June 2016”, recalls the director of the USD, José Zamarriego. Since then, in these last days of June, and until the 30th at the latest, the companies adhering to the Code publish the data corresponding to the previous year on their websites. Spain is the only country in Europe that, within a system of self-regulation, publishes one hundred percent of the collaborations with healthcare organisations and professionals on an individual basis.
In total, economic collaborations between the pharmaceutical industry and agents in the sector amounted to 667 million euros last year. “This figure demonstrates the sector’s commitment to research in Spain, an international benchmark in clinical trials, and to the training of healthcare professionals. Our professionals cannot provide the best care and the best service if they are not at the forefront of scientific knowledge,” says Zamarriego.
“Interaction between the pharmaceutical industry and healthcare professionals and organisations is indispensable. It guarantees the updating and improvement of professionals’ knowledge and ensures that the progress of biomedical research does not stop. The exchange of knowledge and clinical experience between healthcare professionals and industry is crucial for research and for the appropriate use of medicines,” says the USD director. In fact, almost half of the R&D investment of pharmaceutical companies in Spain is allocated to collaboration contracts with public and private centres outside the companies.
2022, a year of recovery
The pandemic caused by the coronavirus led to a significant decrease in the organisation of training activities and scientific-professional meetings during 2020 and part of 2021 and, consequently, a reduction in the transfers of value published by pharmaceutical companies in relation to their collaboration with this type of activity.
Since 2021, there has been a recovery in training activities, mainly due to the return to face-to-face meetings and the consolidation and even increase in meetings organised in a hybrid and virtual format. This trend continued in 2022, leading to an increase, compared to the previous year, in direct collaboration between companies and healthcare professionals and organisations.
The pharmaceutical industry’s commitment to transparency is more than consolidated in Spain after eight years of publication of these collaborations. Despite this consolidation, the self-regulation system is a model in constant evolution. Proof of this is the revision of the Code of Good Practices of the Pharmaceutical Industry itself, with the aim of adapting it to new challenges and social demands – the latest in 2021 – or the brand new launch of the first Certification of Knowledge of the Code.
The latter is a pioneering initiative in Europe, of a voluntary nature, which seeks to recognise the individual knowledge of people working in the pharmaceutical industry, but also of other professionals related to the sector, in line with the sector’s commitment to transparency. Its great advantage lies in accrediting that companies and organisations have among their teams people certified in their knowledge of the Code and, therefore, mitigate risks in its application. All the information on this initiative is available at this link.
