Our Company / Ethics&transparency / HCP/HCO Relationship

Reciprocity
and ethics

Mutual growth, transparency and patient centricity are the values that guide our dialogue with the medical community. The open sharing of knowledge and experiences with healthcare professionals and organisations is what allows the productivity of our research and development efforts to grow each day. Our objective is one and one alone: providing more and more effective treatments to patients.
The relationship with healthcare professionals (HCPs) and healthcare organisations (HCOs) takes on various forms: development of new drugs through clinical studies at hospitals, universities, and public and private health facilities, but also scientific advice, conferences, seminars and CME (Continuing Medical Education) organised by public institutions, scientific research companies and accredited providers.
These relationships, which are regulated by national and international standards, are based on the mutual respect of each other’s roles within a framework of ethical standards subject to stringent audits by third-party bodies.

Transfer of money to healthcare professionals and organisations

Pharmaceutical companies in Italy have made a choice of absolute transparency regarding collaborative relationships and money transactions with healthcare professionals and organisations by unanimously adopting the Farmindustria Code of Ethics and the code of the EFPIA (European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations) on transparency.

Each pharmaceutical company that is a member of Farmindustria publishes the Transfers of Value made to Healthcare Professionals (HCPs), Healthcare Organizations (HCOs), Patient Associations and Patient Experts on the company website by 30 June of the following year.

This page provides the data regarding the following transfers of value.

Expenses incurred annually for research and development (R&D) activities in aggregate form.
Money transfers to HCPs with reference to:
a) expenses for participation in conferences and congresses with regard to registration fees, travel and hospitality (excluding meals and drinks);
b) expenses for consultancy and professional services resulting from a specific contract.
The data of the HCPs are rendered in individual form in the presence of the release by the Healthcare Professional of the consent to individual publication, otherwise rendered in aggregate form, in compliance with current privacy legislation.
Alfasigma requires HCPs to consent to the publication of data for each initiative.
Money transfers to HCOs and Patient Associations individually, with reference to:
a) donations and contributions (including free loans) both in cash and in kind;
b) direct or indirect financing for congress events;
c) economic transactions relating to professional advice and services resulting from a specific contract.

By June 30 of the following year, Alfasigma also discloses the following information in the “Patient associations” section (under Our Company / Ethics & transparency / Patient associations):

the list of Patient Associations against which service contracts were concluded in the previous year;
a list of the Patient Associations supported in the previous year, together with the purposes underlying this support and the economic value of the funding provided to each Association;
List of transfers of value to Expert Patients containing the names of the persons involved, subject to specific consent, and the total amount of transfers of value made.

The publication on the company website takes place in the manner provided by the Guarantor Authority for the protection of personal data, in the matter of unavailability of data through external search engines and the adoption of suitable measures to hinder massive duplication operations.

Methodological note on accounting aspects
All published figures are recorded in accordance with current VAT regulations. Alfasigma data are exclusive of VAT and on accrual basis. Foreign currencies have been converted into Euros at the exchange rate on the day of recording.

The transfers of value published in the "Travel and Hospitality" section consist of the cost of hotel accommodation and airfare, train fare or car reimbursement according to ACI rates (reimbursement not exceeding the cost incurred for other guests).