PLYMOUTH – In a move to increase consumer protection in Michigan and hold drug companies accountable, State Representatives Marc Corriveau (D-Northville) and Richard LeBlanc (D-Westland) today introduced a plan that requires drug companies to fully disclose how they spend their marketing money and bans lavish gifts such as extravagant trips and meals to doctors.
"Too often, the wealthy drug industry puts profits before people and secrecy ahead of safety," Corriveau said. "The amount of money spent on research and development pales in comparison to what big drug companies spend on marketing. They're looking to make another million – we're fighting to protect our residents from harmful drugs. By requiring drug companies to report how they spend their millions, we can increase transparency and openness, which will only benefit our consumers."
The plan would:
· Require companies to report all drug advertising and marketing expenditures, including gifts to doctors and
other health care workers.
· Require companies to report research and development expenditures.
· Ban lavish drug company gifts to doctors and limit gifts to $100 worth a year.
· Establish a searchable Web site that details drug companies' marketing expenses and gifts to doctors, which
would be maintained by the Department of Community Health.
Big drug companies spend more than $21 billion annually on marketing.[1] Merck, maker of now-banned Vioxx, spent more than $160 million on an aggressive
advertising campaign in 2000; as a result, sales of Vioxx quadrupled to $1.5 billion.[2] Vioxx may have caused heart attacks or cardiac deaths in up to 139,000 Americans, based
on Merck's own studies, before it was pulled from shelves in 2004.[3]
"Requiring more openness from drug companies about how and where they spend their money will increase accountability and give consumers more information they need to make safe and healthy choices," LeBlanc said. "It's always better to have more information when it comes to making serious decisions about health care. This plan will benefit our residents and may ultimately save lives."