| dc.description.abstract | The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations (lFPMA) is a non-profit, non-governmental Organization (NGO) representing national industry associations and companies from both developed and developing countries. Member companies of the IFPMA are research-based pharmaceutical, biotech and vaccine companies. The Federation was founded in 1968 and was admitted into official relations with the World Health Organization in 1971.
The IFPMA Code sets out standards for the ethical promotion of pharmaceutical products to healthcare professionals to ensure that member companies' interactions with healthcare Professionals are appropriate and perceived as such. IFPMA also seeks to preserve the independence of the decisions taken by healthcare professionals in prescribing medicines to patients.
Industry relationships with healthcare professionals must support, and be consistent with, the professional responsibilities healthcare professionals have towards their patients. IFPMA member companies are accountable for addressing and correcting infringements under relevant codes. They should also ensure that internal structures and procedures (including adequate training of employees) are created to ensure responsible and ethical promotional activities.
This project objective was to find out the extent of compliance with IFPMA code and marketing practices of pharmaceutical companies in Kenya. This was guides by two specific objectives. First was to establish the extent to which the pharmaceutical companies in Kenya have complied with the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Marketing Association Code on their marketing practices and then to identify the marketing practices applied. To undertake the study, a descriptive research design was used. The data was analyzed by employing descriptive statistics (percentages) and factor analysis.
The findings of the study are that to a large extent pharmaceutical company comply with the international federation of pharmaceutical manufacturers and associations IFPMA codes. The code greatly affects their marketing practices as it dictates what they can and cannot do. It ensures that marketing practices are ethical and put the interests of patients first. It also ensures that promotional items are not of significant value and gifts of a personal nature are discouraged. | en_US |
