AstraZeneca pressures fellow pharmas with vow to reveal doctor payments worldwide

Pharmas’ payments to doctors raise concerns about prescription bias and have triggered bribery investigations, too. So, to win patients' trust, transparency matters. And now, AstraZeneca is going beyond its Big Pharma fellows to disclose all its doc payments, even in regions where it's not required. CEO Pascal Soriot told investors at its annual meeting that his company plans to disclose payments in all countries where it has commercial activities, according to The Times. Several countries, including the U.S., require those disclosures under local regulations. “[There was] no reason for us not to disclose,” said Soriot, as quoted by The Times of London. “It’s only a question of making sure we have the tools to do it in an efficient and indeed transparent manner. I think we should be able to do it soon.”