Pharma badly prepared for incoming EU data regulation changes

The pharma sector is poorly prepared for the major changes in data protection that the EU General Data Protection Regulation will bring, according to a survey by Crown Records Management.

One third of pharma companies are unaware of the forthcoming changes, predicted to be ratified in the next 12 months and in place in 2017. Crown Records Management commissioned a Censuswide Survey of IT decision-makers at UK companies employing more than 200 people to establish how well prepared businesses are for the changes.

Of these IT decision-makers in pharma, 28% were totally unaware of the changes, with only the insurance sector coming out worse. Almost a third said they were waiting for the final details of the regulation before taking any action, and one in three said their company is looking at staff training to prepare for the new regulation, which was the lowest across all sectors. Only 6% said they were planning to make no changes at all.