AstraZeneca supports transparency legislation on payments to health care providers

AstraZeneca announced today that it supports the revised Physician Payment Sunshine Act as part of the company's latest step to provide the public with more information about the way it does business.

Sponsored by Sens. Charles Grassley of Iowa and Herb Kohl of Wisconsin, the legislation would create a national registry of payments that biopharmaceutical companies, device manufacturers and medical supply companies make to medical organizations and health care providers.

"AstraZeneca believes that providing information to the public about our company, our products and how we do business is integral to improving patient health," said Tony Zook, President and CEO, AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, LP, U.S. "We are pleased to support this legislation that will create greater transparency around our relationships with physicians, while helping the public understand how we work with health care providers."

Zook praised Sens. Grassley and Kohl for their leadership on the legislation -- and especially for creating a single uniform registry that would capture payments made to physicians by biopharmaceutical companies, device manufacturers and medical supply companies. "This is the best approach to provide physician payment information to patients," Zook said.

AstraZeneca is proud that it improves patient health by helping ensure physicians are knowledgeable about our products and patient assistance programs, and by providing physicians with timely, relevant information that enables them to make the best treatment decisions for their patients.

In supporting the Physician Payment Sunshine Act, AstraZeneca builds on the transparency initiative it launched in March. AstraZeneca previously announced it will publicly share additional or enhanced information about its policy positions, political contributions, medical education grants, contributions to nonprofit organizations, and post-marketing study commitments, as well as making information on its compliance program and clinical trials more visible on its Web site.

Beginning at various stages this year, elements of the company's previously announced transparency initiative will be available at AstraZeneca's U.S. Web site www.astrazeneca-us.com, in an effort to better inform the public about how the company conducts its business and how it is helping patients through research and support for external organizations.

http://www.astrazeneca-us.com