Drug Industry Trade Secrets Pharma Companies Don't Want You to Know

There are only a handful of states that require drug manufacturers to disclose the payments they make to doctors and other healthcare providers every year. Many of the states that otherwise require this disclosure also feature a provision that allows the companies to declare their payments as trade secrets so that the state can’t disclose to the public. While some people may see this as a loophole that the companies can exploit to cover their financial tracks, the manufacturers see it as a necessary form of transparency with protocols, while health insurance companies continue to pay for inflated drug prices.  

Watchdog groups such as Public Citizen, have sued the state of Vermont to get access to these public records otherwise known as trade secrets of the drug companies. The details of these newly-released financial trade secrets include payments made to doctors for educational and speaking fees as well as consultancy work on a variety of medical and research issues. Between July of 2002 and June of 2004, $2.72 million in payments were claimed as trade secrets by these companies. Because the competition for researchers is so intense between all drug manufacturers, these payments play a major part in letting each company know who is courting who in the medical field for their product research and consultancy.

Changes are Coming

Companies such as GlaxoSmithKline, Eli Lilly and Merck all have plans in the works that will make their reporting of these payments to doctors and other health professionals much more transparent to the public. There’s actually a bill in Congress that will make this type of financial reporting, mandatory across the country. Most companies are willing to go this route provided that the revealing of payments doesn’t adversely affect their actual trade secrets and research and development issues.