Industry-Supported Scientific and Educational Activities: Maintaining Independence from Promotional Influence
This guidance addresses the distinction between industry-supported scientific and educational activities and promotional activities. It provides direction on how companies can support educational activities while maintaining their independence from promotional influence.
Recommended Actions
- Develop clear policies for supporting educational activities that ensure independence from promotional influence
- Implement procedures for reviewing and approving educational support requests
- Create documentation systems to track educational grants and support
- Establish criteria for evaluating educational providers and programs
- Train relevant staff on the distinction between promotional and educational activities
- Maintain clear separation between marketing/sales departments and educational grant decision-making
- Regularly audit educational support activities to ensure compliance with guidance
- Document all funding disclosures and agreements with educational providers
- Review promotional materials to ensure they don’t inappropriately reference supported educational activities
Key Considerations
Other considerations
- Industry supporters should have no control over content, speakers, or materials of educational activities
- There should be full disclosure of industry funding
- The educational provider should maintain full independence in developing program content
- Multiple company support is encouraged to minimize individual company influence
- Industry supporters should not be involved in promoting the educational activity directly to attendees
- Educational materials should be balanced and scientifically rigorous
- Venue and circumstances of the educational activity should be appropriate for scientific/educational communication
Relevant Guidances
- Maintaining Independence of Industry-Supported Scientific and Educational Activities
Related references and norms
No specific norms or ISO standards are referenced in this guidance.
Original guidance
- Industry-Supported Scientific and Educational Activities: Maintaining Independence from Promotional Influence
- HTML / PDF
- Issue date: 1997-12-03
- Last changed date: 2019-04-17
- Status: FINAL
- Official FDA topics: Medical Devices, Advertising, Drugs, Animal & Veterinary, Biologics, Administrative / Procedural
- ReguVirta summary file ID: 8a1523921f5f14751df1a592b2288ce1
This post is licensed under CC BY 4.0 by the author.