Drugmakers are kicking back at a Massachusetts marketing-and-disclosure bill that we reported on a few days ago. The outright ban on gifts to docs didn't make it into the compromise measure, but pharma isn't happy nonetheless. The bill would require disclosure of any payment or gift of $50 or more--and companies are saying that handing over that info would have a "chilling effect" on life sciences in the state.
How so? Well, PhRMA is pointing to language in the bill requiring disclosure of the "nature and purpose" of every doc payment. The industry association says that could be construed to mean that clinical trial data would have to be an open book if docs were paid to be part of those trials. We think that's stretching a bit--maybe to scare the governor into vetoing the bill?--but then again, we aren't lawyers.
- read the post at Pharmalot