Boost for transparency as highest ever rate of healthcare professionals named on Disclosure UK
The proportion of named healthcare professionals (HCPs) in transparency data published on Disclosure UK has risen for the third year in a row, according to new 2022 data released today.
More and more healthcare professionals are saying yes to Disclosure UK and recognising the importance of transparency in their relationships with industry. It’s great to see the progress that has been made and we will continue to encourage even more healthcare professionals to take this step. Susan Rienow, ABPI President
The annual declaration of ‘transfers of value’ [1] made to healthcare organisations (HCOs) and healthcare professionals by pharmaceutical companies was published today on Disclosure UK [2] by the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI).
An estimated 78.8% of individual healthcare professionals are named alongside the transfers of value they received for non-research & development (non-R&D) collaborations in 2022. This is an increase from 72.6% in 2021 and 68.1% in 2020. [3]
The total value of non-R&D spend was £201.6m, up 32.6% from the previous year. [4] The proportion of non-R&D spend disclosed against a named individual or healthcare organisation in 2022 was 95.1%, an increase on 93.8% in 2021 and 93.4% in 2020.
Research and development (R&D) collaborations account for 68.6% of the total value disclosed for 2022 (72.7% for 2021 and 71.5% for 2020). [5]
A total of £440.6m was disclosed by companies for R&D collaborations with healthcare professionals and healthcare organisations in 2022. This is up from £405.1m in 2021, an 8.8% increase.
A total of 145 pharmaceutical companies disclosed 2022 data via Disclosure UK, up from 139 companies the previous year. [6]
The overall increase in both R&D and non-R&D values in 2022 is likely to have been influenced by many factors, including inflation and activity levels increasing following the lifting of pandemic restrictions, as well as the greater number of companies disclosing data.
Within non-R&D activities, there have been increases in all categories of payments in 2022.
Susan Rienow, President of the ABPI said: “Healthcare professionals are increasingly recognising the importance of transparency in their relationships.
“It’s great to see the progress that has been made and we will continue to encourage even more healthcare professionals to step up to Disclosure UK.
“Partnerships between the NHS and industry are a triple win; they help develop new medicines and vaccines, improve patient care, and benefit the NHS. We want to see these collaborations go from strength to strength.”
Disclosure gateways
Alongside the annual data publication for healthcare professionals and organisations, the ABPI has also launched a new disclosure ‘gateway’ on Disclosure UK, where links to information on company transfers of value to members of the public can be found.
The 2021 ABPI Code brought in a new requirement, starting with 2022 data published in 2023, that companies must make publicly available annually aggregated details of the fees for certain contracted services paid to members of the UK public, including patients and journalists. These services include speaking at meetings, assistance with training, writing articles and/or publications, participating in advisory boards, advising on the design etc of clinical trials and participating in market research where such participation involves remuneration and/or travel. (2021 ABPI Code, Clause 30.1)
The existing patient organisation disclosure gateway on Disclosure UK has also been updated with links to 2022 patient organisation information. Disclosure of information about industry’s work with patient organisations has been a requirement of the ABPI Code of Practice since 2006.
The disclosure gateways are a collection of hyperlinks which enable visitors to the Disclosure UK database to find and review patient organisation or members of the public disclosures on individual company websites.
Last modified: 20 September 2023
Last reviewed: 20 September 2023
[1] Transfers of value disclosed via Disclosure UK include both direct or indirect payments, and benefits-in-kind, for example the value of a train ticket or accommodation.
[2] Disclosure UK is the public, searchable database publishing ‘transfers of value’ (payments and benefits in kind) from pharmaceutical companies to UK healthcare professionals and organisations. It is part of pharmaceutical industry transparency requirements across Europe. You can find the Disclosure UK database and other resources at www.disclosureuk.org.uk.
[3] The percentage of named individuals is related to the legal basis a company uses to process healthcare professionals’ data under the GDPR. For example, if a company is using Consent but permission is withheld by the HCP, the value can only be published in aggregate (not against a named person) on Disclosure UK.
The data show that a small but growing number of pharmaceutical companies are moving to the GDPR’s legal basis of ‘Legitimate Interests’, instead of ‘Consent’, to manage their healthcare professional disclosure commitments. For information on what this means, see our ‘What is Legitimate Interests?’ factsheet available from the Disclosure UK resources.
The percentage rate of named healthcare professionals can only be estimated. Many healthcare professionals work with multiple companies so the same individual could appear in multiple companies’ aggregate data. A formula is applied taking into account an estimate of duplicates to give the estimated overall named HCP rate. Our data analysts use the same formula each year for consistency.
[4] Values for non-R&D collaborations are broken-down and published against individually named healthcare professionals where data protection law allows, or healthcare organisations. These activities include:
- Registration fees – e.g., a company paying for an HCP to attend a medical conference for education and training.
- Sponsorship agreements with HCOs – e.g., a company may fund an independent organisation to run a training seminar.
- Travel and accommodation – e.g., paying for the accommodation or rail fares for an HCP to attend a conference.
- Donations and grants to HCOs – e.g., buying equipment for HCOs, such as medical equipment, books, or products which support disaster relief.
- Contracted services: Fees – e.g., paying HCPs for their time to sit on advisory boards and help with the development of medicines.
- Contracted services: Related expenses – e.g., travel and accommodation requirements to support an HCP to deliver the work they were contracted to do for a pharmaceutical company.
- Collaborative working – which refers to pharmaceutical companies working with other organisations to deliver initiatives which either enhance patient care or are for the benefit of patients or alternatively benefit the NHS and, as a minimum, maintain patient care.
- More information in How we work with HCPs and How we work with HCOs.
[5] Values for research and development (R&D) are always published in aggregate and include transfers of value to healthcare professionals or healthcare organisations related to the planning or conduct of:
- non-clinical studies (as defined in the OECD Principles of Good Laboratory Practice)
- clinical trials (as defined in Directive 2001/20/EC)
- non-interventional studies that are prospective in nature and involve the collection of data from, or on behalf of, individual or groups of healthcare professionals specifically for the study
- costs that are subsidiary to these activities are also included.
Disclosure UK is part of a European-wide transparency requirement for the pharmaceutical industry administered by EFPIA. European-level requirements are that R&D is disclosed in aggregate. There are various challenges to breaking down this data further, including that many R&D payments are blinded, issues with confidentiality agreements, challenges for companies reporting differently across multiple countries, and adding more red tape to R&D activities at a challenging time for UK clinical trials. EFPIA and all national associations continue to keep this under review.
[6] The number of disclosing companies per year can fluctuate due to mergers or acquisitions, starting or ending relevant UK activity, or new companies formally complying with the ABPI Code of Practice.
Additional data tables
The 2022 HCP/HCO data can be broken down as illustrated in the following chart: 
|
Presenting results based on 2022 data as of 22 June 2023 to allow time for analysis. Numbers can be updated over time. 2021 data as of 23 June 2022; 2020 data as of 23 June 2021. |
|||
|
Total categories |
2020 value |
2021 value |
2022 value |
|
What was the total transfer of value disclosed? |
£487.8 million |
£557.2 million |
£642.1 million |
|
How much did the industry spend on R&D collaborations with HCPs and HCOs? |
£348.9 million
|
£405.1 million |
£440.6 million |
|
What percentage change was there in R&D spend vs. the previous year? |
- 8.6%
|
+ 16.1% |
+8.8% |
|
How much was spent on HCPs and HCOs for non-R&D collaborations? |
£138.9 million
|
£152.0 million |
£201.6 million |
|
How much of the non-R&D value was against a named person or organisation? |
£129.8 million |
£142.5 million |
£191.7 million |
|
What percentage of the non-R&D value is disclosed against a named person or organisation? |
93.4% |
93.8% |
95.1% |
|
Estimated percentage of named HCPs in the non-R&D spend |
68.1% |
72.6% |
78.8% |
|
Amount spent on the following for non-R&D collaborations: |
|
||
|
· Registration fees |
£1.9 million |
£3.0 million |
£3.1 million |
|
· Sponsorship agreements with HCOs/3rd parties |
£24.5 million |
£32.0 million |
£39.7 million |
|
· Travel and accommodation |
£1.5 million |
£0.4 million |
£5.3 million |
|
· Donations and grants to HCOs |
£53.0 million |
£44.0 million |
£47.2 million |
|
· Contracted services - Fees |
£52.0 million |
£65.1 million |
£88.0 million |
|
· Contracted services - Related expenses |
£2.2 million |
£0.4 million |
£2.7 million |
|
· Collaborative working |
£3.9 million |
£7.1 million |
£15.5 million |
|
How many pharmaceutical companies disclosed data? |
131 |
139 |
145 |
The ABPI exists to make the UK the best place in the world to research, develop and use new medicines. We represent companies of all sizes who invest in discovering the medicines of the future.
Our members supply cutting edge treatments that improve and save the lives of millions of people. We work in partnership with Government and the NHS so patients can get new treatments faster and the NHS can plan how much it spends on medicines. Every day, we partner with organisations in the life sciences community and beyond to transform lives across the UK.