1. FS Arzneimittelindustrie e.V. (FSA)
Association of Voluntary Self-Regulation
for the Pharmaceutical Industry
Dr. Holger Diener
Grolmanstraße 44–45 · 10623 Berlin
Phone: +49 (0)30 8 87 28–17 00
E-mail: h.diener@fs-arzneimittelindustrie.de
Information portal
on the new Code of Conduct:
www.pharma-transparency.com
To which pharma companies
does the Transparency Code apply?
The Transparency Code will apply to all member compa-
nies of the FSA, as well as to their domestic subsidiaries.
Which companies this involves in particular can be re-
viewed at www.fs-arzneimittelindustrie.de/mitglieder.
For additional information,
please contact us:
Information on the adoption of FSA
Transparency Code in collaboration
with healthcare professionals
Creating Trust – Combating Mistrust
On 27 November 2013, the Association of Voluntary Self-
Regulation for the Pharmaceutical Industry (FSA) adopted the
FSA Transparency Code. According to the new Transparency
Code, all future payments in kind by the pharmaceutical in-
dustry to physicians and other healthcare professionals are
to be made public.1
This development is an important step towards more trans-
parency and the strengthening of trust of the public at large
in the collaboration between pharma companies and health-
care professionals. Also at the 116th German Medical Assem-
bly at the beginning of June 2013, a current vast majority
was in favour of the introduction of transparency in this area.
Therefore we are hoping for your support!
For additional information: www.pharma-transparency.com
1
Approval by the Federal Cartel Office required for the Code to go into effect
has been requested and is expected to be granted in the first quarter of 2014.

2. What is the pharmaceutical industry’s
objective with the Transparency Code?
The collaboration of the pharmaceutical industry with
healthcare professionals is a decisive factor towards im-
proving the care of patients. The pharmaceutical industry
developed codes of conduct in parallel to the physician
associations’ codes of conduct, which create a transparent
and ethically-sound basis for collaboration, in order to
guarantee that the patient’s well-being is the sole focus of
all cooperation. Voluntary self-regulation has been success-
ful up to now. However, societal expectations are continually
increasing – in particular, the expectations of the system for
transparency are rising.
The pharmaceutical industry is responding to this develop-
ment with the Transparency Code, by becoming increasingly
more transparent and endeavouring to make its activities as
consistent as possible, in order to thus foster a better un-
derstanding of the collaboration between pharmaceutical
companies and healthcare professionals: After all, those who
have nothing to hide, have nothing to fear from transparency.
How does this development affect me
as a healthcare professional?
From 2015, the FSA member companies will be documenting
all direct and indirect payments and benefits in kind made to
healthcare professionals or organisations of the healthcare
system from the areas of:
• Research and development
• Donations and payments
• Sponsoring and other forms of financial support
• Invitations to advanced training events, sponsoring
• Fees for services and consulting
In the disclosure of individual information, the companies
depend upon your consent for data protection reasons.
That is why in 2014, the FSA companies will provide precise
details to you about the new transparency rule.
When and where is this information
expected to be published?
For the first time in 2016 ,the indirect and direct
benefits in kind made by FSA member companies to
healthcare professionals will be published, based on
the year 2015.
It is anticipated that the disclosures will be made
available on the websites of member companies.