1/31/19: When and what to give as gifts to physicians has been a thorny issue for pharmaceutical companies for years. As FDA and DOJ intensified their scrutiny of corporate marketing practices, companies crafted Codes of Conduct that limited gifts, meals and entertainment to medical professionals.
In an effort to standardize the gift-giving policies of industry members, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) adopted its own Code of Conduct that set limits for the type and cost of gifts from its members to medical professionals. Now, the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA) has taken the matter a step further by updating its guidelines for 2019. According to an article by Beth Snyder Bulik in Fierce Pharma, the IFPMA’s updated guidelines for 2019 “… strictly forbid all gifts or ‘goodies’ handed out by prescription drug makers.”