Top pharmaceutical companies have drastically scaled back their payments to healthcare professionals who promote their drugs, according to a ProPublica report.
In 2012, Eli Lilly & Co. spent $21.6 million on speaker payments, down 55 percent from 2011's payments of $47.9 million. Pfizer spent $8.3 million on speaker payments in 2012, down 62 percent from $22 million in 2011. GlaxoSmithKline's speaker payments dropped 60 percent from 2011 to 2012, from $24 million to $9.3 million, according to the report.
However, some companies have increased their speaker payments, including Johnson & Johnson.
The declines follow increased public scrutiny on pharmaceutical spending and marketing practices, including whistleblower lawsuits alleging pharmaceuticals of improper drug marketing, according to the report.
Some pharmaceutical companies lost their patents to generic drug companies, contributing to their decline in speaker payments, according to the report.
Additionally, some pharmaceutical companies are "reevaluating the role of physician speakers in their marketing repertoire" such as GlaxoSmithKline, which announced in December it would stop paying physicians to speak on its behalf.
In September, the first reported results of the Physician Payment Sunshine Act are expected to be made available. The act is part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and requires pharmaceutical and medical device companies to publicly disclose any payments to physicians.
More Articles on Pharmaceuticals:
Collaborative Pharmaceutical Care Decreases Medication Errors
Safety of Indian-Produced Drugs Being Questioned
$230M Public, Private Partnership to Expedite Drug Development