Leading pharmaceutical industry operators have committed to change the way that they work with medical sector partners.
The changes are intended to foster greater transparency across the supply chain, as well as to marketing, brand promotion and production processes, according to the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI).
Fourteen signatories have pledged not to provide promotional aids to healthcare professionals, while information on payments to healthcare professionals as well as participation in advisory boards will also need to be declared.
Commenting on these initial changes, ABPI director of trust and reputation Andrew Powrie-Smith called for further, more fundamental changes to show that the industry is willing to work in new ways.
He explained that the sector needs to "embrace greater transparency and for the science behind our medicines".
Mr Powrie-Smith also called for "medicine's place in the patient pathway to be the focus of our interactions with clinicians".
His comments follow the publication of a new report by PricewaterhouseCoopers, which underlined the need to reform the sector.
The consultancy's report suggested that the industry's current structure is ill-equipped to meet the sector's future needs.
Typical Guttridge equipment used in the pharmaceutical industry includes; Feeders – metering screw feeders – weighing systems
