The first set of international publishing guidelines developed from with in the industry after consultation with journal editors and investigators have been released. The Good Publication Practice (GPP) guidelines call on pharmaceutical companies to publish results of all clinical trials of marketed prod ucts and recommend practical steps to reduce publication bias and redun dant publication. The GPP guidelines were designed to increase transparency and encour age the responsible and ethical reporting of clinical trials. Drug companies have been criticized for their methods of developing publication materials as well as for their failure to publish unfavorable find ings. The guidelines differ from those published by journal editors because they address the role of professional medical writers and, especially, writers’ interactions with authors. “We wantGPP to be a`onestop shop’for people working in or for drug com panies,”says Liz Wager,a member of the team that developed the guidelines. The guidelines have been endorsed by Amgen, Aventis, LEO Pharma, Otsuka, Serono,and 3M Pharmaceuticals. GPP is intended to complement statements from the International Commit tee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and CONSORT.The guidelines were published in Current Medical Research &Opinion. GOOD PUBLICATION PRACTICE for Pharmaceutical Companies Is Offered Guidelines call for publication of all clinical trials of marketedproducts and recommend steps to reducebias. “Until now, companies had to look all over the place for relevant information, and even the best guidelines did not cover all the issues. We hope that Good Publication Practice will become widely accepted and implemented throughout the industry,” says Liz Wager. WHAT’S NEW NEW HEALTHCARERELATED PRODUCTS, SERVICES, AND COMPANIES The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) has launched a bimonthly journal,the Annals of Family Medicine, through a collaborative effort with the American Board of Family Practice, the Association of Family Practice Residency Directors, the North American Primary Care Research Group, the Association of Departments of Family Medicine, and the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine. “By providing a unique print and online venue for premier family medicine research, we are addressing a longstanding educational and infor mational need,” says Warren A. Jones,M.D.,president of the AAFP. “We are all dedicated to the success of the Annals. This journal will help not only family physicians, but also other healthcare professionals, medical researchers, medical residents, teachers of medicine, and,most importantly,patients.” The Annals of Family Medicineis supported main ly through dues paid by members of the sponsoring organizations. The journal will accept classified advertisements but has invoked a ban on commer cial drug advertising. Annals of Family Medicine Launched With SUPPORTOFSIXMEDICALORGANIZATIONS THOMSON PHYSICIANS WORLDOPENS OFFICE to Meet the Needs of Customers in Central and Western States Thomson Physicians World has opened an office in Chicago to better serve its clients in the central and western states. The new facility is home to a spe cialized staff of medical education and communications professionals led by Senior VP Barbara Scheulen and Account Director Tamara Schiller. In developing programs, the Chicago location offers clients access to the in depth expertise and resources of the entire Thomson Physicians World staff of more than 300, as well as a wide array of ancillary healthinformation services avail able from the Thomson Healthcare busi nesses. The Chicago team has extensive experience in developing medical educa tion programs in many therapeutic areas, including arthritis, HIV, multiple sclerosis, dyslipidemia, insomnia, diabetes, cardio vascular disease, dermatological disor ders, and gastrointestinal disease. KEY POINTS OFTHE GPP GUIDELINES FOR PHARMA CEUTICAL COMPANIES COMMITMENT to endeavor to publish results of all trials onmark eted products Sponsors may REVIE WMANUSCRIPTS before submission Companies MUSTNOT VETO public ations REDUNDANT publication should be av oided All publications should INCLUDE A STUDY IDENTIFIER (e.g . a pr otocol numb er) Journal GUIDELINES on authorship should be f ollowed AUTHORSHIP CRITERIA should be applied equally to ext ernal inv estiga tors and to employ ees Everyone who meets authorship cr iter ia SHOULD BE LISTED Others who have c ontribut ed to a publication (eg. medical wr iters) SHOULD BE A CKNOWLEDGED Named AUTHORS RETAIN RESPONSIBILITY FOR C ONTENT and should be inv olved with all stages of manuscr ipt dev elopmen t Source: GPPWorking Gr oup,Buckinghamshir e, U.K. For more inf ormation, visit g ppguidelines.or g. Thomson Physicians World’s Chicago office is being led by Barbara Scheulen and Tamara Schiller. 55 PharmaVOICE J u l y 2 00 3 WHAT’S new Sheila Greco Associates Accommodates Clients with MIAMI OFFICE Sheila Greco Associates LLC, a human resources consultancy specializing in research, recruiting, and customized competitive intelligence, has opened an office in Miami. Randy Mikuni,who heads up the new location, has been named chief operating officer/executive VP of strategic marketing and busi ness development of SGA Lists LLC, a new division within the company that provides humanresource consulting services, such as name generation and list services. Having begun as a research company, Sheila Greco Associates has expanded into customized competitive intelligence (CCI) and recruiting. New LifeSciences Consultancy,Cambridge Healthcare & Biotech, DRAWS STRENGTH FROMNETWORKOF PARTNERS Cambridge Healthcare & Biotech Ltd. (CH&B), a new lifesciences consulting company, has been launched in Cambridge,U.K.Initially, the company’s focus is on providing a comprehensive range of services in business and marketing strategy for biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and healthcare services companies, as well as ser vices for institutional investors in Europe and the United States. CH&B was founded by Martyn Postle, who has worked at or around board level for more than 50 different healthcare companies during his 23year career as director, consultant,and investment banker. CH&B aims to engage the most appropriate people for each client project by supplementing its own staff with a network of associates and strategic partners throughout Europe and the United States. Rodman Publishing Launches MEDICALDEVICE CONTRACT MANUFACTURING JOURNAL Rodman Publishing has launched Medical Prod uct Outsourcing, which features a global perspective on medicaldevice and in vitro diagnostic contract manufacturing. The magazine made its debut in June and will be published again in October. “With outsourced manufacturing growing by double digits annually, medicaldevice and in vitro diagnostic manufacturers will turn to Medical Prod uct Outsourcing for the latest information on trends and news about their industry and manufacturing partners,” says Howard A. Revitch,publisher.“This will be the only publication focused 100% on this bur geoning sector.” Medical Product Outsourcingcovers partnership issues to regulatory concern, to design, as well as manufacturing complexities.The publication features articles,uptodate industry news,commentary,and a network of partners domestically and abroad. Randy Mikuni, chief operating officer and executive VP of strategic marketing and business development, of SGA Lists LLC, heads up Sheila Greco Associates’ new Miami office. HealthAnswers REPOSITIONS PATIENT MARKETING GROUP As part of HealthAnswers Inc.’s repositioning strat egy, the company’s patientmarketing division has been renamed the Patient Marketing Group Inc. This division was formerly known as the Hastings Health care Group. The recent divestiture of HealthAnswers’ medicaleducation division marked the first phase of the corporation’s transition to a marketingsolutions company offering leadingedge services in selected growth categories. Renaming the patient marketing group reflects the group’s growing focus on providing programs targeted to patients and healthcare con sumers. “Our new name distills the unique expertise and experience we have developed over the course of our history,” says Lynn Benzing, president of the Patient Marketing Group. The Patient Marketing Group provides special ized marketing services and communications tar geted directly to patients through multiple chan nels, which are designed to improve patient compliance, persistency, and loyalty. THE AMERICAN ACADEMYOF FAMILY PHYSICIANS,Leawood,Kan., represents more than 94,300 physicians and medical students nationwide.This is the only medical specialty society devoted solely to primary care.For more information,visit aafp.org. CAMBRIDGE HEALTHCARE & BIOTECH, Cambridge,United Kingdom, is a new advisor to biotech,pharmaceutical,and healthcare companies in Europe and the United States.For more information,visit chandb.com. GPPWORKINGGROUP INC., Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom, published the GPPguidelines to encourage responsible and ethical publication of the results of clinical trials sponsored by pharmaceutical companies For more information, visit gppguidelines.org. PATIENT MARKETING GROUP, Pennington,N.J., is a pharmaceutical Follow up marketing services firm and subsidiary of HealthAnswers Inc. For more information, email [email protected]. RODMANPUBLISHINGCORP.,Ramsey, N.J., is a businesstobusiness magazine publisher.In addition to nine magazines, the company publishes foreign language editions as well as show dailies. For more information,visit mpomag.com. SHEILA GRECOASSOCIATES LLC, Amsterdam,N.Y., is a humanresources consulting company offering research, recruiting,customized competitive intelligence,and SGA Lists. For more information, visit sheilagreco.com. THOMSONPHYSICIANSWORLD, Secaucus, N.J., a part of The Thomson Corp., is a fullservice provider of medical education and communications programs for physicians and allied healthcare professionals.For more information,visit physiciansworld.com. Under the leadership of its founder, Sheila Greco Associates’ expands capabilities.
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