UPDATE 1-Pfizer, GSK paid $262 mln to
Pfizer spent $177 mln on clinical trials, speakers
* Rival drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline spent $85 mln
* Disclosures follow push for more industry transparency (Adds Pfizer statement and background on Merck spending)
LONDON, March 31 (Reuters) - U.S. doctors last year received $177 million from Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) and $85 million from GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK.L) for speaking at events, giving expert advice and working on clinical trials of medicines.
The disclosures are the latest example of Big Pharma bowing to pressure for greater transparency, following concerns in the
Pfizer, which is required to detail payments to physicians following government investigations into its marketing practices, said on Thursday that work on clinical trials and related research accounted for $108 million of the total.
Payments to speakers at expert-led forums made up the bulk of the remaining expenditure, with 4,600 doctors receiving an average of $7,400 each for their work at events last year.
GSK, which is not under an obligation to detail its payments, said separately it paid 5,331
The British drugmaker's payments to
Speaking engagements, in which doctors are paid by drugmakers to discuss their medicines with groups of other physicians, have been among the most controversial industry marketing practices.
By law, companies are forbidden to promote their drugs for uses not cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. But some companies allegedly have greatly boosted prescriptions for their drugs by allowing or encouraging paid speakers to discuss such "off-label" use of their products.
Merck & Co Inc (MRK.N) earlier this week revealed on its website that it paid $20.4 million in 2010 to 2,088
The Merck figures exclude payments linked to medicines developed by Schering-Plough, which was acquired by Merck in November 2009. (Reporting by Ben Hirschler; Editing by Will Waterman and Steve Orlofsky)