IPC A A NEWS A Farewell Message from the President IPCAA INTERNATIONAL PHARMACEUTICAL CONGRESS ADVISORY ASSOCIATION No. 36 December 2010 Photo Alfred Arzt My term of presidency of IPCAA will officially come to an end in January, at our Annual Meeting and General Assembly – which will coincidentally take place in my home town of Gothenburg! I therefore wanted to take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks to all our members, especially those who serve on our Council and our Executive group, including Legal Advisor Manfred Piepenburg – all of whom have in their various ways given me fantastic support and encouragement during the three years since I took over the role of President of IPCAA. It has been a challenge for several reasons: firstly, I was rather suddenly pitched into the task after just one year as Vice President, following the unanticipated resignation of the previous President. On top of that, the environment in which we operate has been undergoing significant changes during my period in charge, with several mergers and acquisitions reducing our membership. This and other factors created pressure on costs and IPCAA activity. I am glad to say that the various issues have all been satisfactorily resolved and I am confident that the next President will inherit an association in good shape, fit to face the future! I also believe that, despite the challenges which presented themselves, a lot of progress has been made and some notable steps forward have been taken. It is not for me to pre-empt the chosen direction in which the new President will take us, but I am totally sure that IPCAA will go from strength to strength and continue to be highly visible as the “voice” of industry in all congress-related matters and will be influential in supporting change and new trends. I wish my successor all the best for the future and I will continue to offer my support in the capacity of a member of the IPCAA Council. Thanks once again to everyone, and not forgetting either, all of our external stakeholders with whom it was my pleasure to interact. Anna Frick Season’s Greetings Winter is upon us again and already this year, abnormally severe weather conditions in Europe have impacted on work activity and travel! Hoping for sunnier times ahead for everybody and happiness and success in personal and business life in 2011 and beyond, IPCAA News extends to all its readers best wishes for the festive season and the New Year. The IPCAA Council Meeting The IPCAA Council met in Montreal, Canada on 20th and 21st October. Following the cancelled meeting earlier this year (due to disruption caused by the volcanic ash cloud over Europe in April), this was the first time the members of the Council had had an opportunity for face to face discussions since the IPCAA meetings in January in New York. As a result, there was a very busy agenda and plenty of lively discussion took place. Anna Frick, President greeted participants and presented the agenda plans for the meeting. Reports from IPCAA Officers Financial report The President, Vice President and Executive Director commented on activities undertaken on behalf of the Association since January. These included, among routine tasks such as driving a task force facilitation project, preparing and planning a WebEx in replacement of the cancelled Spring Council meeting, planning the Council meeting for Montreal and regular Executive group teleconferences and meetings: The Treasurer presented a detailed financial report which continues to show a healthy, stable position despite some reductions in membership numbers over recent years, principally due to mergers and acquisitions within the industry. A small reduction in income had not prevented the Association from continued investment in selected projects approved by Council. ● ● ● 2 Photo Leo van Maanen A number of presentations on pharmaceutical industry related themes delivered at seminars and conferences organised by other associations in the meetings industry Cooperation with IAPCO in planning the Masterclass programme for Wolfsberg in January 2011 Involvement in a project aimed at development for IPCAA members of a standardised methodology for evaluation of healthcare congresses ● A targeted campaign to attract new members ● Development of a succession plan for IPCAA officers ● Participation in Healthcare Congress Alliance (HCA) activities Factors to be considered and incorporated into the budget for the next financial period were also discussed during the meeting. Reports from task forces Reports from the task forces were discussed and new activities identified and agreed. HCA activities Two meetings have taken place this year involving IPCAA representatives, and various HCA initiatives have been progressed, the most notable being production of some new Housing Guidelines to be published by HCA. The draft guidelines were reviewed by Council. IPCAA Education events Council members were informed about plans for the forthcoming workshop on Compliance (Dec 8th). It was confirmed that the event will again be open to representatives of medical societies as well as IPCAA members, following the success of this approach last year. It is hoped that a good balance of participants will be achieved. Photo Leo van Maanen Guest speaker session Nomination of Officers The undoubted highlight of this Council meeting was a presentation by Dr Thomas P. Stossel, MD, of Harvard Medical School, addressing aspects of the pharma: physician relationship. Intriguingly entitled “Commercialism in healthcare – sin or salvation?”, Stossel examined and commented on a number of contentious issues, offering an enlightened and often humorous approach to a subject which seemingly continues to provoke more and more controversy. Council reviewed and voted on a proposal to add a second Vice President to the team of IPCAA officers. (See article below). (See the article on page 5). Programme for 2011 General Assembly The proposal from the Executive Group was discussed in Council and agreed in principle. Speakers, etc are now finalised and the full agenda placed on the website for members. Event evaluation project Compliance issues etc A short workshop, to enable Council members to review and gain additional insight into the methodology being developed for IPCAA, took place on the second morning. It was agreed that thought would be given to next steps and future implementation and the subject will be revisited in January. The final session of the Council meeting consisted of a very interesting exchange of views and recent experiences on compliance issues among members. It was felt that IPCAA should make every endeavour to maintain closer contact with certain regulatory bodies. IPCAA to appoint second Vice President - changes to Statutes required - Following a suggestion from the Executive Group, the IPCAA Council has decided to propose to the membership at the General Assembly next January, to appoint two Vice Presidents of the association in future. supplied by IPCAA Legal Advisor, Manfred This will mean that tasks could be shared – Piepenburg, which, after due deliberation on certainly welcome for colleagues with increasing certain possible practical scenarios was professional workloads and also a degree of approved in Council. back up secured in the event of career changes or other influences. To provide for the election of two Vice Presidents, as well as other desired changes which have been identified, for example, length of tenure of Council positions, the IPCAA statutes will need to be revised. A proposal for the amended text was Note: Two candidates for the Vice Presidency have already been identified; but final voting will not take place until January, so it is still possible to nominate/volunteer. 3 IPCAA contributes to ICCA annual conference This year’s ICCA conference, held in Hyderabad, India – was attended by more than 700 delegates involved in delivering meetings from various aspects such as the airline industry, convention bureaux, PCO’s, hotels and professional associations. The delegates truly represented all areas of the world. The ICCA meetings are known for their open and friendly atmosphere and there are plenty of opportunities to network. Anna Frick, President of IPCAA, participated in a panel discussion entitled “Big Issues Within Medical Meetings and Their Supporting Pharmaceutical & Medical Devices Companies”. Other panel members were Davi Kaur, MPhil., Head of Congress Unit, ECCO (the European Cancer Organisation), Prof. Ruby Pawankar, MD, Ph.D, Nippon Medical School, Japan & Director, Asian Allergy Asthma Foundation, and President-Elect of the World Allergy Organisation and Dr. Ian Macreadie, Chief Scientific Officer, Sienna Cancer Diagnostics, Australia. The discussion was led by Robin Lokerman from MCI Singapore. After short presentations by panellists, describing their respective organisations, during which Anna briefly detailed basic pharmaceutical industry compliance issues, there was lively discussion amongst the panel. Perhaps surprisingly there was a high level of understanding and agreement from those representing what could have been polarised viewpoints! Indeed there seemed to be generally informed acceptance of the issues surrounding the pharmaceutical codes. Discussion in fact focussed more around the important need for physicians to continue to meet for the exchange of ideas and acquisition of new knowledge and skills. The added benefit that virtual meetings are now proving to have as an adjunct to face to face events was acknowledged by panellists and finally a strong emphasis was made on the fact that all parties need to continue and even increase collaboration and cooperation in the future. Questions raised from the floor during the discussion on aspects of pharmaceutical regulatory codes were dealt with by the IPCAA President, enabling further explanation of the reasons for the codes’ existence and contributing to improved understanding for those present. 4 Anna Frick speaking at the conference The obvious interest in the topic of this session was confirmed by the audience of around 300 who attended. Healthcare congresses clearly remain a very significant and valued part of the meetings sector. Such was the interest raised, that, as Anna said “…the lively discussions continued beyond the meeting room but remained very balanced. So it seems that we are slowly getting an acceptance of the codes and the issues on which they impact. Having said that we still have a long way to go in this area of the world where we as companies are not truly living our codes yet.” Next year’s ICCA conference will be in Leipzig, Germany. Anna believes that participation of the IPCAA Executive Board at next year’s meeting will be able to further strengthen ties between the respective organisations as well as making another positive contribution to promoting mutual understanding of common issues. “We view our relationship with IPCAA as critical for building two-way understanding between senior pharma industry representatives and the leading meetings industry suppliers who comprise our membership”, said ICCA CEO Martin Sirk. “Issues such as evolving sponsorship and marketing strategies, political and professional pressures on CME delivery, and growing time pressure on physicians are all going to shape the future effectiveness of medical congresses, and ensuring that a platform exists where these issues can be debated in an open and creative manner is one of our top priorities. We look forward to working closely with IPCAA to ensure our Congress becomes well known across both our communities as a mutually beneficial site for these essential discussions.” Rebel with a Cause? At a recent meeting of the IPCAA Council, held in Montreal, Canada in October 2010, Dr. Thomas Stossel, MD gave a highly entertaining and informative presentation as guest speaker. Tom Stossel is a colourful and enigmatic character. As a highly qualified and distinguished practising physician and researcher, with a string of achievements and awards to his name, he maintains an immensely humanitarian outlook and practical commitment – with his wife Kerry Maguire, D.D.S, M.S.P.H, he has established a non-profit corporation (Options for Children) in Zambia which he regularly visits, providing dental care and preventive treatment in orphanages and villages in rural areas. Such is his professional profile, that you would expect him to truly be a pillar of the medical establishment and part of the ever growing movement to question and curtail what many hold to be “dubious” interactions between pharmaceutical industry and physicians. Far from it! As co-founder of ACRE (the Association of Clinical Researchers and Educators), Stossel has a major policy interest – together with very strong and controversial views – on the subject of physicianindustry collaboration. He has contributed his views on the topic as author in the professional and lay press, as a consultant to pharmaceutical companies, as a speaker at academic health centres and on broadcast media, typically raising and commenting on issues such as: ● The risk: benefit ratio of commerce in medicine ● The definition of “professionalism” and its relation to commerce ● The nature and management of conflict of interest in medicine It is his view that, the damages claimed from the perceived risks of physician-industry relationships are “imaginary or speculative” and that a “crescendo” has been reached in anti-business sentiment in science and medicine. Stossel points to advances in research and treatment achieved because of commercial interest, saying “In the commercial context, trust comes from your individual track record, from honouring contracts and delivering promises—not from who pays you or how much. The growing interaction between medical practitioners, educators and researchers and companies is an evolutionary adaptation to opportunity for all, not a diabolical commercial conspiracy. Let’s celebrate the commercialism that has so improved medicine and shift our energies from bashing it to making it work better”. Equally, he admits the need for safeguards, believing that “disclosure within limits can be reasonable”, going on to add “…let’s appreciate its limitations and exercise common sense. Inappropriate promotion can be censured, with due process. Let’s stop agonising over subliminal messages and give medical practitioners a little more credit for their ability to process information”. With outspoken views, seemingly contrary to the present groundswell of opinion, Tom Stossel clearly has his detractors and aggressive opposition to his views is frequently expressed. For his part, he believes there is an in-built “cultural bias” which inhibits more open thinking on the topic of physician-industry relationships. Many critics see him as “tilting at windmills”, while others appear to view him as a more substantial threat to “progress”. Whether Thomas Stossel will go down in history as a visionary ahead of his time, or a voice crying out in the wilderness remains to be seen. He is nevertheless a very visible and vocal manifestation of a useful and necessary debate on what some might see as excessive overreaction to the perceived need to “control” the healthcare industry. However, what makes fundamental sense to some will be viewed as foolhardy by others. Those on both sides of the fence in this ongoing discussion, including IPCAA members, will no doubt follow the arguments with interest! Note: in publishing the comments by Dr Stossel on this page, IPCAA News offers an opportunity for views to be voiced on an important subject. It should not, however, be inferred that comments made represent any official opinion of IPCAA on the subject matter. 5 IPCAA runs successful Compliance Workshop in Frankfurt The workshop organised by IPCAA in Frankfurt on 8th December attracted a group of approximately 40 attendees, despite certain travel difficulties experienced by some of the delegates. As well as representatives from among the IPCAA membership, participants from various medical societies were also present, enabling a useful exchange of views and experience from differing viewpoints. A high calibre faculty covered not just international pharmaceutical but also medical device industry compliance issues and internal compliance departments were represented alongside an important regulatory body. First to speak was Marie-Claire Pickaert, Deputy Director General of EFPIA – the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations, who emphasised the commitment of her organisation to working closely with medical societies and congress organisers and reaching out to all involved groups, to raise awareness and ensure an accurate perception of pharmaceutical industry aims and values. Pickaert went on to explain the recent EFPIA leadership statement and the aim to jointly achieve common standards of practice at congresses, particularly via interaction with the medical profession. She also commented on a series of EFPIA visits to international congresses in Europe, commenting in general terms on issues that may raise concern in regard of EFPIA’s HCP Code and underlining the importance of conforming to highest ethical standards in interactions between pharmaceutical companies and Healthcare Professionals. Cécile Gousset, Head of Medical Information Compliance at sanofi aventis followed, by presenting to the audience compliance matters related to interactions with HCPs for scientific events. It was emphasised how important it is that sanofi aventis should be acting ethically under all circumstances. As a global diversified healthcare company, their internal compliance procedures and policy are based on international guidelines (IFPMA, EFPIA and the World Health Organisation). Internal documentation has been created for all employees to give corporate guidance to be implemented by the affiliates, in accordance with local regulations when these are more stringent. 6 Paul Woods, Global Compliance Policy and Assurance Director of AstraZeneca, in a short summarising presentation, underlined aspects of what previous speakers had stated and indicated his view that pharmaceutical industry should take control of what at times may appear a confusing situation, in order to move forward in everyone’s interest. Following his comments, a lively Q+A and discussion session ensued, with considerable input from the delegates present. Dr. Bernard Maillet, Secretary General of UEMS (the representative body of European medical specialists) presented details of European activity in the fields of Continuing Medical Education and Continuing Professional Development. Compliance aspects and the need for transparency clearly impact in this area too! The final speaker was John McLoughlin, (pictured above), Chairman of the Compliance Panel of EUCOMED – the European medical device companies association. He explained the historical background of the development of the EUCOMED code of ethical business practice and detailed how this operates. Despite certain practical differences in the way device companies and pharmaceutical industry interact with customers, it was made clear that the EUCOMED code is indeed similar in many respects to that of EFPIA. McLoughlin further commented that compliance activity is driven by the desire to meet ethical standards, as any industry would aspire to do, but also reflect government and public expectations, local laws and to a certain extent, aspects of American legislation, which can impact on any company which has business in the U.S. Following the presentations by the guest speakers, the participants broke out into working groups, to address a case study aimed at defining the “ideal” medical/scientific congress. This resulted in intensive discussion and generated much valuable comment. Following the presentations by the guest speakers, the participants broke out into working groups Reviewing the day, Sylvia Fondanèche, Vice President of IPCAA and organiser of the programme, stated “I am satisfied with how the workshop went. Bringing together various interest groups in what became very open and at times, controversial discussion can only serve the interests of us all. It is clear that much more needs to be done in terms of continuing to offer platforms for communication and interaction between all parties involved on the organisation of medical meetings. IPCAA intends to play a strong role in facilitating this kind of networking exchange.” IPCAA to reduce number of meetings In a period when more and more demands are placed on the time of those working in the conference sector, as well as their colleagues, it was felt that IPCAA should address the frequency of its Council meetings. Traditionally, there have been Council meetings each year in Spring and Autumn/Fall, together with one adjacent to the Annual Meeting and General Assembly each January. Quite by chance, because of the volcanic ash situation in Europe, in April 2010, which caused such travel disruption, the Spring meeting this year was cancelled and substituted by a Council WebEx virtual meeting. This proved very effective and in recent discussion, following a proposal from the Executive Group of IPCAA, Council members agreed to follow a similar pattern in the future. Starting next year, therefore, there will be no physical Council meeting in Spring and a WebEx will again be arranged. Indeed, the view is that Council communication and decision-making need not be negatively impacted by a reduction in traditional meetings and the new situation may be reinforced by additional “virtual meetings” when considered necessary. Masterclass update Following previous discussion within IPCAA to cooperate with other organisations on educational topics, the two associations will be putting on a high level course at the time of the usual IAPCO event in Wolfsberg in January 2011 (details on IPCAA website). Speaking at the recent Council meeting in Montréal, Anna Frick, President said “I think this is a very positive step. We must recognise that it becomes increasingly difficult for our busy Council members, all of whom are volunteers, to attend meetings as their business commitments take up ever more of their time. Also, we have a duty to our membership to run the association as efficiently as possible and to exercise discipline on cost aspects. Coming as I do from the “green” city of Gothenburg as well, I am delighted that in making this move, we also considerably reduce the carbon footprint of IPCAA and make a contribution to the environment.” Rotation of IPCAA meetings During discussion, the subject of the rotating location of IPCAA meetings was also reviewed. In view of the fact it had been decided to only have one CM per year apart from that immediately prior to the GA, the Autumn/Fall Council Meetings will now always take place in Europe, with General Assemblies continuing to alternate between Europe and the USA as previously. companies, with plenty of interaction planned between the limited number of delegates and a top quality faculty drawn from different sectors of the international meetings industry as well as congress supporters from the pharma industry. The theme of the course will be change and its management. The programme will cover a range of topics such as Corporate Responsibility, Procurement, Changes in Meeting Formats, the “Shift to R+D” and Virtual meetings, among other subjects. This event has been specially put together with IPCAA and IAPCO members in mind. This will also offer a real chance for networking opportunities with key players from the meetings industry. This should be of interest to experienced colleagues with more than 6 years decision-making experience in the meetings industry – from IPCAA member In view of the limited number of places available, members are advised to announce their interest as soon as possible! 7 IPCAA DIARY DATES IPCAA Events 2011/2012: • Council Meeting January 11, 2011, Gothenburg, Sweden IPCAA Council and Member Companies President Anna Frick Vice President Sylvia Fondanèche Treasurer Ingrid Marti ● Annual Meeting and General Assembly January 12 & 13, 2011, Gothenburg, Sweden ● Council Meeting October 11 &12, 2011 Dublin, Ireland ● Council Meeting January 10, 2012, San Francisco, USA ● General Assembly January 11 & 12, 2012, San Francisco, USA IPCAA Annual Meeting and General Assembly 2011 (12th-13th January, Gothenburg, Sweden) We encourage all members to send representatives to the annual meeting. This year promises to be a busy and varied programme with all the usual opportunities for plenty of networking with colleagues from within the industry. 8164 Designed by Carlton Design Ltd. www.carltondesign.co.uk Summary of programme 8 ● Reports on IPCAA activity and achievements during 2010 ● Presentation of 2011 budget ● Election of new officers ● New Strategic plan/Objectives for 2011 ● Task force meetings ● Workshops (Objective setting for congress participation/review of internal conference department structures) ● Guest speakers on topics such as social media/new technology, developments in meeting formats ● Guest speaker from EFPIA to update us on compliance issues etc (Full details available on the IPCAA website.) Registration is easy – via the website. Book your place NOW! Council Members Christian-Claus Roth Sylvain Gaudron Nis Hatt Leo Van Maanen Martin N. Jensen Pavla Lotova Vincent Nys Jane Puckett Eric Seban Nicky Simpson Legal Advisor Manfred Piepenburg IPCAA Member Companies Actelion Pharmaceuticals Ltd. Astellas Pharma Europe Ltd. AstraZeneca Bayer Schering Pharma AG Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. Eli Lilly & Company F. Hoffmann – La Roche Galderma / L’Oréal Grünenthal GmbH H. Lundbeck A/S Janssen Pharmaceutica (Johnson & Johnson) Leo Pharma Merck & Co. Inc. Merck Serono S.A. Mundipharma Intl. Ltd. Novartis Pharma AG Novo Nordisk Pfizer Inc. sanofi-aventis Servier International Takeda Pharmaceuticals Europe Ltd. UCB Pharma S.A. Executive Director Keith B. Spencer IPCAA Secretariat Rita Gutzwiller PO Box 182 CH-4013 Basel, Switzerland Tel: +41 61 821 31 33 Fax: +41 61 821 31 44 E-mail: secretariat@ipcaa.org