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Industry Calendar 5/13/08 - Coalition Meeting 6/4-6/08 - HCMA Annual Conf. 6/12-13/08 - CBI Forum on CME View all events All 2008 Coalition Meeting Dates

Coalition Commentary On Current Issues Coalition and AMM Support FDA Clarification of Reprint Guidance To Empower Doctors With Timely Data, Information From Peer-Reviewed Medical Journals View joint statement to FDA. Coalition Presents Statement to IOM Committee on Conflict of Interest March 13, 2008. View Statement. Coalition CME Committe Refutes Anti-CME-Sponsorship Article In response to an article by Ray Moynihan in the February 23rd issue of the British Medical Journal, three members of the Coalition's CME Commitee, Brad Bednarz, Marty Cearnal and Mark Schaffer, defended Industry-Supported CME and its value to prescribers and their patients. View online. View PDF. Presentation: Hot Topics from Inside the Beltway By John Kamp, Coalition Executive Director NAAMECC and Coalition Respond to Macy Foundation Chairman's Conference Summary Major objections to the summary are explained. Coalition and NAAMECC Meet with ACCME on New Policy and Guidelines Read report by John Kamp and NAAMECC's President, Michael Lemon. Read post-meeting letter from ACCME Chief Executive, Murray Kopelow. Coalition and NAAMECC Urge ACCME Board to Modify Definition of "Commercial Interest" Memo sent to ACCME in November explains imbalance and flaws of new criteria. View memo in PDF format. Amicus Brief Filed by Coalition to Support Ruling against NH Prescription Restraint Law. In August, the State of New Hampshire appealed the U.S. District Court ruling that found the law unconstitutional. View Coalition's Amicus Brief View NACDS Amicus Brief View eHi, NAHIT and SureScripts Amicus Brief Coalition Urges DC Council to Reject Unconstitutional Safe Rx Act of 2007 Read the Coalition's letter to the DC Council Coalition Thanks Supporters As Congress Rejects Proposed DTC Regs Read the Coalition's open-letter ad in the September issue of DTC Perspectives Coalition Responds to New ACCME "Commercial Interest" Policy Read the Coalition's position on ACCME's revised policy statement. Stark Bill Denying Tax Deduction for DTC Most Probably Is Unconstitutional. Find Out Why. Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA). This act and acronym refer to the FDA funding bill that must be "reathorized" i.e., passed, every five years before the FDA can spend government funds. The PDUFA portion refers to the authorization for the FDA to charge user fees to drug companies that ask for drug approvals. Much of the funding for FDA comes from general tax revenues, but beginning in the early 90s the Congress authorized these fees to reduce the general public's cost of funding the agency. Now this bill, which must pass before the FDA can spend government funds, has become a vehicle for the passage of special amendments that direct the agency to do specified things or fund special projects. This year it will be the vehicle for amendments related to drug safety and, possibly, advertising and other drug marketing limits. View John Kamp's Presentation --> More Coalition commentary...

News and Commentary from the Industry BLOG CORNER Blogs with interesting comments on current issues: Peter Pitts Thomas Sullivan Harry Sweeney Glaxo Executive Blasts Massachusetts on Pending Legislation Viehbacher speaks out against Murray bill which would ban gifts to physicians as conflict of interest. View Boston Herald article. PhRMA Primer on Pharmaceutical Marketing: The PhARMA Web site contains a primer on facts about pharmaceutical marketing and promotion that put important issues into perspective. View and download. NAAMECC Spells Out CME Realities to IOC Committee Read NAAMECC Statement of March 13, 2008 Gifts to Physicians: Thomas P. Stossel, Harvard Medical School Professor, argues that restrictions on doctors' and academics' interactions with commercial companies damage research and that no evidence supports that detailing and gifting adversely affect patient care. View article. Peter Pitts Assesses John Edwards' Policy on Drug Information Edwards would deny consumer access to drug advertising. Pitts shows why this is a faulty notion. IMS Health Article Outlines Chronology of New Hampshire Prescription Restraint Law and Opposition to It View article. Coalition Members Defend DTC Advertising As some members of Congress and the media continue to oppose dissemination of prescription drug information to consumers, industry leaders are becoming more vocal in defense of this practice. One of the cornerstones of the opposition is the Kravitz, et al. study published in JAMA in 2005. In his blog on the Dorland Global Communications Web site, Harry A. Sweeney, Chair of the Executive Committee for the Coalition, shows that the study actually proves the need for DTC advertising. Read Mr. Sweeney's blog. Prominent First Amendment Scholar Critiques Kennedy Drug Safety Bill Dean Smolla's letter concludes the bill would not withstand a First Amendment challenge. New PERC Report: The Impact of Provider-Indentifiable Data on Healthcare Quality and Cost by Michael Turner, Ph.D., Joseph Duncan, Ph.D., Robin Varghese, Ph.D., and Patrick Walker, M.A. This study examines the uses of provider-identifiable data within the U.S. healthcare system with particular emphasis on the impact of the commercial use of this data on the market for prescription drugs. Executive Summary (PDF) Full Report (PDF) New NMA Study Shows Increased DTC Advertising Approval among Black Physicians Research published in the March, 2007 Journal of the National Medical Association compares 2006 results to less favorable views in 2001. View entire report View analysis by Target Market News More Industry commentary... INDUSTRY CALENDAR 5/7-9/08 - AHLA Life Sciences Law Institute 5/13/08 - Coalition Meeting, NYC 6/4-6/08 - HCMA Annual Conference "Interacting in an Interactive World", Dallas, TX 6/12-13/08 - CBI Forum on CME View brochure. View discount coupon.

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