A PROPOSED INTERNATIONAL CODE OF ETHICAL CONDUCT FOR PHARMACEUTICAL PHYSICIANS

Ethics in medicine and particularly pharmaceutical medicine is being questioned and challenged almost daily. The revised Declaration of Helsinki, the EU Clinical Trial Directive, the Washington Post "Body-hunters" series from December 2000, inevitably open our industry to ever-increasing public scrutiny. Dialogue amongst patients, investigators, institutions, sponsors and the media highlights the need for transparency, and guidance on how to manage these situations responsibly, before they become issues. We find ourselves faced with numerous challenges in the varied ethical and cultural issues in Pharmaceutical Medicine across the globe, and in the ethical dilemmas across the therapeutic spectrum. Interestingly the literature and most of the reference books authored by respected academics are collections, collations and commentaries from a number of sources and fail to provide guidelines. 

Medical ethics has been governing human behaviour as far back as Hippocrates in the late 5th century BC. However as science becomes more innovative and medical research processes more creative, the ethical boundaries that limited ‘what was considered possible’ are now being challenged by scientific endeavour using rational justifications that often go beyond common sense.

Controversial ‘ethical’ issues emanating from the revised Declaration of Helsinki, the various EU Clinical Trial Directives and Regulations, as well as the media, inevitably open the pharmaceutical industry to increasing public scrutiny. There is a need for transparency and guidance on how Pharmaceutical Physicians as the ‘conscience and guardians’ of Pharmaceutical Ethics can proactively manage these situations responsibly, well before they become major issues.

Pharmaceutical Physicians should recognise their ethical responsibility and stand aside from blind company loyalty when assessing factors affecting the product itself. They must remain aware at all times that the ultimate interests of both patients and their own employers are best served by an objective scientific attitude. IFAPP recognises that this may place a practising Pharmaceutical Physician in a position which demands considerable determination to maintain.

An International Working Party (WP) was established in September 2001 to advise the International Federation of Associations of Pharmaceutical Physicians (IFAPP) on how to manage this complex area. It was recognised that there are ethical issues which are of particular relevance to Pharmaceutical Physicians, and IFAPP believes that it has a responsibility to define and publish standards to which Pharmaceutical Physicians and others can refer, so that they may be measured when dealing with ethical issues in the field of Pharmaceutical Medicine.

The IFAPP code was published in October 2002, and in 2009 the Working Group became the Pharmaceutical Medicine Ethics Council. The code can be seen on this site (click here).