Sunshine Act Impacts Drug Companies' Promotional Activities

Although the Sunshine Act requires disclosures for grants and other funding of medical research, the majority of payment categories are focused on promotional engagements. A new report from Cutting Edge Information finds that drug manufacturers are feeling the burden of tracking promotional engagements, such as dinner meetings, across their global operations.

"The difference between paying a thought leader for a promotional versus a clinical engagement is that the promotional activities come with greater disclosure requirements," said Elio Evangelista, director of research at Cutting Edge Information.