By 30 June, 25 innovative pharmaceutical companies operating in Croatia had publicly disclosed data on transfers of value to physicians and healthcare organisations made during 2015, which from this year becomes standard practice for the innovative pharmaceutical industry in 33 countries.

The total transferred value of the members of the Innovative Pharmaceutical Initiative (iF!) in the past year amounted to at least HRK 105.3 million*, of which around HRK 42.2 million, or 40 percent, relates to healthcare professionals. At least HRK 38.6 million, or 36.7 percent of the total transferred value, was transferred to healthcare organisations, and as much as HRK 24.5 million, or 23.3 percent, was invested in research and development.

With these funds, the innovative pharmaceutical industry has, for example, through sponsorships and donations, enabled the implementation of projects by healthcare organisations, and it is well known that, thanks to the financial support of pharmaceutical companies, most of the mandatory continuing education of physicians is carried out, without which they cannot renew their licences. In accordance with Croatian law, pharmaceutical companies have disclosed data on transfers of value to physicians by name only with signed consent, and around 12 percent of physicians in Croatia have given such consent.

In addition to the professional development of physicians, cooperation between industry and healthcare professionals also includes participation in medical and educational meetings, where physicians provide their expertise, time, and work, for which they receive fair compensation. The vast majority of Croatian citizens agree that they have this right; according to a survey by the IPSOS agency from February of this year, 87 percent support remuneration for expert lectures and the covering of accommodation, travel, and registration fees for professional educational events by industry. As many as 97 percent of citizens support regular participation of physicians in professional educational events, and 89.4 percent support the public disclosure of data on transfers of value.

“This is a major step by the innovative pharmaceutical industry towards full transparency, and we believe that it can only further improve cooperation with healthcare professionals, thereby bringing best medical practice closer to patients,” said the Chair of the iF! Governing Board, Tatjana Tomljanović, while the Association’s Executive Director, Sani Pogorilić, explained that healthcare professionals are indispensable partners in the search for effective medicines, from the stage of clinical research to the sharing of best clinical practice and the exchange of information on how medicines work in patients.

“It is precisely thanks to the exchange of knowledge between industry and healthcare professionals, as well as the exchange of experience at professional meetings, that the course and outcome of many diseases are changing. In cooperation with healthcare professionals, the innovative industry has found solutions for many previously incurable diseases, and we are on the brink of a number of further revolutionary discoveries,” Pogorilić concluded.