RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC--(Marketwire - December 6, 2007) - In the wake of increasing
pressure from state legislatures, more pharmaceutical companies are
instituting compensation limits for the physicians who they work with,
according to a new study from business intelligence firm Cutting Edge
Information (
http://www.ThoughtLeaderCompensation.com).
The study found that 43.2% of pharmaceutical companies have annual
compensation limits in place for individual thought leaders. Furthermore,
the average limit is approximately $57,000 and the median limit is $32,500.
Although not every company indicated that it had a compensation limit in
place for opinion leader relationships, the sense among pharmaceutical
executives was that capping physicians' compensation will continue to be a
growing trend.
"Many of the executives we interviewed expressed the need to collect
aggregate spending data for their thought leader relationships," said Elio
Evangelista, research team leader at Cutting Edge Information. "Many
companies are imposing these compensation limits on themselves to assert
more control over thought leader activities before it hurts them from a
compliance standpoint."
"Thought Leader Compensation: Establishing Fair-Market Value Procedures,"
available at
http://www.ThoughtLeaderCompensation.com, is a study designed to help pharmaceutical
manufacturers develop fee schedules for physicians' consulting and advisory
activities while still remaining compliant. The study provides fair-market
value benchmarks of hourly rates, as well as additional fees for services,
such as:
-- Delivering a promotional or scientific speech
-- Leading, moderating or participating in an advisory panel
-- Writing a medical publication
A survey of 46 pharmaceutical firms found that the highest percentage of
companies with compensation limits in place are Top 20 companies. In fact,
55.6% of large pharmaceutical companies have compensation limits in place,
compared to 30% for participating mid-sized companies and 50% for small
firms.
"Thought Leader Compensation: Establishing
Fair-Market Value Procedures" is a study of nearly four dozen
pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device companies and third-party
providers' fee schedules for influential physicians in 20 therapeutic areas
and in various practitioner categories.
Download a free summary of "Thought Leader Compensation: Establishing
Fair-Market Value Procedures" or purchase the report at
http://www.ThoughtLeaderCompensation.com.
Contact Information: CONTACT:
Elio Evangelista
(919) 433-0214