RCSI report: Risk of ‘conflict of interest’ on pharma payments

Royal College of Surgeons’ latest research reveals ‘substantial potential for conflicts of interest in Irish healthcare’

A new study says large pharmaceutical firms paid Irish healthcare professionals and organisations a total of €163 million from 2015 to 2019. Picture: Getty

The lack of transparency around pharmaceutical companies paying Irish healthcare organisations and professionals has created a “substantial potential for conflicts of interest", research from the Royal College of Surgeons (RCSI) has found.

Large pharma firms including Pfizer, Roche, GlaxoSmithKline and many others paid a total of €163 million from 2015 to 2019, according to the study published in Health Policy, the academic journal.

The payments were used for a variety of activities such as consultancy ...