Kentucky environmental attorney Sanders says Pfizer to disclose compensation to U.S. health care professionals for drug research and trials.

Pfizer Inc will disclose its compensation paid to U.S. healthcare professionals for consulting, speaking engagements and clinical trials. The disclosure will include payments made to practicing U.S. physicians and other healthcare providers, as well as principal investigators, major academic institutions and research sites for clinical research.

This makes Pfizer the first biopharmaceutical company to commit to reporting payments for conducting Phase I-IV clinical trials in addition to disclosing payments for speaking and consulting. Pfizer plans to publish its first annual online update on www.pfizer.com in early 2010. The report will include payments made from July 1, 2009, going forward.

Parameters under consideration include reporting payments to recipients, whose aggregate amount exceeds $500 in a calendar year, including the value of non-monetary items, such as meals, that exceed $25 in value. Specifically, this includes disclosing all payments to:

• All practicing healthcare providers who can prescribe medicines;
• Major institutions for ongoing clinical trials; and
• All principal investigators and other entities for Phase I-IV clinical trials sponsored by Pfizer beginning after July 1, 2009.

The payments include those for:
• Clinical development and commercial consulting;
• Promotional speaking;
• Phase I-IV clinical trials;
• Investigator-initiated research; and
• Meals and other non-monetary items.

We salute the efforts of Pfizer to give transparency to drug research and compensation paid to health care professionals by Pfizer. We would like to see Pfizer make the same disclosures for health care professionals located outside of the U.S.