IFPMA's New Code of Practice Sets the Bar Higher

The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA) is guiding its member companies and associations worldwide to adopt a new industry Code of Practice, which comes into effect on January 1, 2019.   In 1981, the IFPMA Code of Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices was the first international self-regulation mechanism in the biopharmaceutical industry. It was born out of biopharma companies’ mindfulness that the responsibility of healthcare professionals to their patients must be considered when promoting medicinal products. The Code has been revised five times over recent decades, and the latest, sixth edition of Code will "set the bar higher".   The 2019 Code establishes a global ban of gifts and promotional aids for prescription medicines, wherever IFPMA member companies operate. This brings the rest of the world in line with current European and US guidance. Any exceptions based on the custom of gifts to mark significant national, cultural or religious events (for example, mooncakes or condolence payments) have also been removed.   Second, it introduces a shift from a rules-based to a values-based Code. The IFPMA Ethos was developed to help instill a culture of ethics and integrity needed to guide business behaviors and interactions between IFPMA members and the healthcare community, no matter how testing the circumstances.   Commenting on the latest Code, Thomas Cueni, IFPMA Director General, said: “Trust is the life-blood of our industry, it is the 'north star' for our behaviors. It’s not just what pharmaceutical innovation achieves that matters, but also how the industry goes about achieving it. Implementing the new and revised Code in full is about walking the talk, about earning our license to operate.”   https://www.ifpma.org/resource-centre/ifpma-code-of-practice-2019/