TRANSPARENCY AND DISCLOSURES IN GRANTS | PFIZER GRANTS FAQ
- Why is Pfizer disclosing financial support for these organizations and activities?
- What details is Pfizer disclosing about payments to Health Care Professionals?
- What information is available on this web page?
- Are organizations receiving Pfizer support aware of this effort?
- Will funding support to medical, scientific, patient and civic organizations based outside the US be reported?
- What is a Medical Education grant?
- Is the volume of funding activities consistent throughout the calendar year?
- Are you going to disclose grants and charitable contributions made prior to 2008?
- Where can I find more information about requesting a grant?
- Is any of the funding support reported on this web page used for the continuing medical education (CME) of health care professionals?
- How does Pfizer ensure that grants and charitable contributions do not pose a conflict of interest with recipient organizations?
- Is Pfizer disclosing all grants, charitable contributions and other healthcare related funding requests made to US patient, scientific, medical, and civic organizations?
Answers
Why is Pfizer disclosing financial support for these organizations and activities?
Pfizer is proud of its longstanding support for organizations that share its commitment to improving public health. Pfizer also discloses information on its pipeline of experimental medicines, clinical trials, post marketing commitments, political contributions and payments to US health care professionals. We are actively looking for more ways to better communicate with the public about how we operate, consistent with our statement on transparency in grants.
What details is Pfizer disclosing about payments to Health Care Professionals?
On March 31st, 2010, Pfizer disclosed payments to recipients, whose aggregate annual payments exceeded $500 during the calendar year, including the value of non-monetary items, such as meals, exceeding $25 in value. The information includes payments made beginning July 1, 2009 through December 31, 2009.
On March 31st, 2011, Pfizer disclosed a full year of data for 2010. All payments and exchanges of value are included for recipients having received in aggregate more than $100 for the year. For recipients who received $100 or less during the year, only transactions $10 or more are disclosed.
The following information is disclosed:
Payments to:
- All practicing HCPs (defined as Health Care Professionals who can prescribe medicines)
- Major institutions for ongoing clinical trials
- All principal investigators and other entities for Phase I-IV clinical trials beginning after July 1, 2009
Payments for:
- Development, research and commercial consulting
- Promotional speaking
- Phase I-IV clinical trials
- Investigator-initiated research
- Meals, reimbursable travel expenses, educational materials and other non-educational items allowed by local market guidelines and Pfizer policy
Pfizer began disclosing on a quarterly basis during 2011.
What information is available on this web page?
The data posted on this web page reflects Pfizer's best effort to provide quarterly reports of grants and charitable contributions made by Pfizer to US patient, scientific and medical organizations, beginning in 2008. Funding reported here includes payments related to human medical care in the form of medical education grants, fellowship, scholarship and visiting professorship support for institutions and healthcare related partnerships, grants to patient organizations, medical and scientific associations, and academic or other medical centers, and charitable contributions. In 2009, Pfizer began disclosing healthcare related support to civic organizations.
In 2011, Pfizer began disclosing healthcare related collaborations and coalitions. In 2016, Pfizer began disclosing healthcare-related non-promotional sponsorships provided to organizations.
For descriptions of these funding types, please visit our descriptions section. Reported information includes the name of the recipient organization, a brief description of the funded activity, and the amount of funding provided. Pfizer may update the quarterly reports if additional relevant information becomes available.
Are organizations receiving Pfizer support aware of this effort?
Yes. Beginning in 2007, Pfizer has informed organizations that received funding of our plans to publicly disclose Pfizer's support. The response has been overwhelmingly positive.
Will funding support to medical, scientific, patient and civic organizations based outside the US be reported?
Pfizer is currently working with external stakeholders globally to determine the appropriate method and scope of disclosure worldwide. Because laws and rules vary from country to country, reporting will vary. In the UK, for example, the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry requires disclosure of grants to patient organizations. Pfizer goes beyond this requirement and describes the nature of Pfizer's relationship with these groups.
What is a Medical Education grant?
Pfizer supports the efforts of independent organizations in their mission to improve patient care through quality improvement initiatives as well as continuing education for healthcare professionals. Requests to support such programs are submitted through our website and managed by the Pfizer Medical organization. For those grant requests submitted in response to a request for proposal (RFP), external review panels (ERP) are responsible for the review and decision-making. ERPs consist of professionals from the medical and education communities with advanced degrees and expertise in a particular clinical area, or specific needs of a geographic region/learner groups, or expertise in CME, CE, continuing professional development (CPD) or Quality Improvement. Pfizer also supports live activities at national conferences and congresses; such grant requests from accredited providers are not subject to ERP review but must still be in compliance with all external guidelines and Pfizer policies.
Is the volume of funding activities consistent throughout the calendar year?
No. Funding of grants and charitable contributions may fluctuate throughout the year, following the pattern of requests for such funding from medical, scientific and patient organizations.
Are you going to disclose grants and charitable contributions made prior to 2008?
Data regarding charitable contributions made through the Pfizer Foundation are available beginning with 2001 on the website www.foundationcenter.org. For all other types of grants and charitable contributions, we began this disclosure with the 2008 calendar year to allow us to notify current and prospective grant recipients of our transparency initiative prior to disclosure. We also sought to solicit and incorporate the views of these organizations into the disclosure process, which we have done.
Where can I find more information about requesting a grant?
For information about submitting requests for medical education grants, visit http://www.pfizer.com/independentgrants. For information about applying for health care charitable contributions, visit www.pfizerhealthcharitables.com. For information about applying for fellowships and scholarships, visit www.promisingminds.com. For information on the broad range of programs Pfizer supports, visit www.pfizer.com/responsibility.
Is any of the funding support reported on this web page used for the continuing medical education (CME) of health care professionals?
Yes. Many of the grants provided by Pfizer's Medical Education Group are used to support CME programs. During 2008, Pfizer discontinued the practice of directly funding CME programs provided by medical education and communication companies, but honored existing commitments. In October, 2009, Pfizer acquired Wyeth Pharmaceuticals and will honor any existing commitments with medical education and communication companies and disclose the programs in our report for the remainder of 2010. For more information about Pfizer's ongoing commitment to CME, visit http://www.pfizer.com/independentgrants.
How does Pfizer ensure that grants and charitable contributions do not pose a conflict of interest with recipient organizations?
Pfizer respects the integrity of the medical, scientific and patient organizations with whom we partner. As such, we strive to achieve the highest level of ethical business conduct in our partnership grants and charitable contributions. Funding support to US-based medical, scientific and patient organizations is in no way intended to influence or reward the recipient for present, past, or future use or support of Pfizer medicines, or to gain access for promotion purposes, or to influence the outcome of a clinical trial. In addition, none of these payments is given to reward recipient organizations for influencing or attempting to influence specific legislation, regulation or governmental health care policies, nor are these payments given on behalf of government officials or elected officials. This support is one way we contribute to the improvement of patients' lives and the advancement of scientific research, in conjunction with our core business of developing innovative medicines.
Is Pfizer disclosing all grants, charitable contributions, and other healthcare related funding requests made to US patient, scientific, medical, and civic organizations?
The data posted on this web page reflects Pfizer's best effort to disclose all grants and charitable contributions made by Pfizer to US patient, scientific and medical organizations, beginning in 2008. In 2009, Pfizer has begun disclosing other funding requests for healthcare related support to civic organizations. Gifts made by the Pfizer Foundation of every amount to all recipients are reported on an annual basis, and can be found at www.foundationcenter.org. Business expenses such as scientific congress exhibit fees and membership dues to medical associations, which provide some material value to Pfizer, are not included. Charitable contributions to cultural institutions and non healthcare related contributions to civic organizations and some aid to disaster-relief groups are outside the scope of this web page, though such funding by the Pfizer Foundation can be found in the Pfizer Foundation annual giving report at www.foundationcenter.org.