Our Pharma Promise

by Tony Gallagher

Our Pharma Promise

Please Read Carefully

[Last updated: May 5th, 2021]

In this Promise we aim to make clear to our community the policies we, Arthur’s Place Community Interest Company, stick to when we work with pharmaceutical companies (‘Pharma’).

Our work with Pharma helps us to achieve our mission to support young adults living with arthritis. This Promise means we can do this without compromising our integrity or the wellbeing of our community.

Our work with Pharma does not affect our ability to offer independent and unbiased information and support for our community or affect the future development of our resources or service activities.

Arthur’s Place recognises that Pharma manufacture and market drugs and treatments within a shared specialist space. We therefore take particular care in how we work with them, to ensure our independence, and most importantly the safety, wellbeing, anonymity and confidentiality of our community.

Below are the principles which Arthur’s Place promises to adhere to when entering into discussions or joint-working with Pharma.

Our policies are as follows:
1. All collaboration will be based on the principles of integrity and openness. They must bring benefit to Arthur’s Place through funding or through supporting Arthur’s Place to achieve its mission.
2. Any joint activity must align with Arthur’s Place’s mission and strategic aims.
3. Any partnership entered into will not compromise the independent status of Arthur’s Place.
4. When working with partners with a commercial interest in Rheumatology / Immunology we will seek to work with a minimum of two partners where possible in order to maintain independence and impartiality. However, we will enter into strategic partnerships with individual companies if it is deemed to be in the best interest of those affected by Rheumatological / Immunological conditions.
5. We will ensure that our editorial independence is maintained so that we are free to comment both positively and negatively about Pharma and will uphold non-promotional working at all times.
6. Arthur’s Place welcomes opportunities to raise funds and awareness through cause-related marketing and sponsorship. However, Arthur’s Place will not directly endorse any third party, its products or services.
7. Arthur’s Place prioritises the needs of its community and will advocate on its behalf where appropriate. Therefore, we will work with Pharma to share knowledge and expertise that may improve the experience of young adults with arthritis as a whole. This may involve participation in Pharma events such as: private or public meetings; training events; advisory board meetings; and market research events.
8. No commercial partnership will be entered into with a company whose product or service is considered to be detrimental to people living with Rheumatological conditions, or any product or service with unsupported claims of positive benefits to those with Rheumatological conditions.
9. All partnerships will require approval by a minimum of one member of the non-executive team, plus the Director of Arthur’s Place CIC.
10. Partnerships with Pharma will not compromise Arthur’s Place CIC independent status and will comply with the ABPI Code of Practice for the Pharmaceutical Industry.
11. Arthur’s Place CIC will not accept support for activities which lie outside our objectives.
12. Arthur’s Place CIC will not undertake any joint work with, or accept funding from, Pharma where promotion of a specific drug is required or demanded by the company (either explicitly or implicitly).
13. Under no circumstances will we accept funding from Pharma to support campaigning activity for access to specific treatments.
14. Any funding or joint activity must be compliant with the conditions of the ABPI Code of Practice for the Pharmaceutical Industry. Where a company is not a member of the ABPI we will require written assurances that any partnership work or support will be conducted to the ABPI Code of Practice.