The USA's Sunshine Act: Greater transparency versus slower drug approval

The USA’s Physicians Payment Sunshine Act, proposed in 2010 and started in 2013, was created to make the financial relationship between health care providers and the pharmaceutical industry more transparent.

It is an integral part of the governance of the US Food and Drug Administration advisory committee, which is involved in the drug development and approval process, notes Dr Nicola Davies in her monthly exclusive FDA Blog for The Pharma Letter.

In 2007, it was found that 94% of the physicians in the USA had some form of relationship with a pharmaceutical company, with 83% receiving gifts and 28% receiving payments for services rendered to the companies, such as participation in research and other forms of consulting. These financial relationships shed light on the FDA drug approval process, as consulting and clinical trials are a fundamental part of this.