Drug maker GlaxoSmithKline to stop paying doctors to promote their products

British drug maker GlaxoSmithKline will no longer pay doctors to promote their products and will not base the compensation of sales representatives on the number of prescriptions written by a doctor.

The announcement, the company says, will bring in changes to its compensation policies and "align the company’s activities with the interests of patients." Glaxo is the first among its peers to make such an announcement which will end sales targets for sales representatives and base their compensation on the quality of health service they provide to patients.

“We believe that it is imperative that we continue to actively challenge our business model at every level to ensure we are responding to the needs of patients and meeting the wider expectations of society," said Sir Andrew Witty, CEO of GSK.

The company will not pay doctors to speak on their behalf at medical conferences as they feel this can influence "audiences who can prescribe or influence prescribing." They will also stop compensating healthcare professionals for attending these conferences -- already prohibited in the U.S. -- and will use that money to educate them through independent educational grants.

"These are designed to bring greater clarity and confidence that whenever we talk to a doctor, nurse or other prescriber, it is patients’ interests that always come first," said Witty.

Glaxo will continue to pay doctors for market research because, according to Witty, it is important to gain insight and feedback from doctors on their drugs, but he notes this compensation will be limited.

While the move has been praised by many in the industry, this could have been in response to provisions of the Affordable Care Act, which will make companies disclose such payments beginning next year.

Pratap Khedkar of global sales and marketing firm ZS Associates told The New York Times that many companies including Glaxo have already been reporting such payments, but that the new ACA requirements may go farther, leading them to change their policies.

[GSK] [The New York Times]