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Drugmaker, security experts urge removing requirement to publish pharmaceutical representatives’ names on state website
Summary
Pfizer and security witnesses urged the General Law Committee to remove a requirement to post pharmaceutical representatives' names on the Department of Consumer Protection website, arguing the disclosure increases safety risks for field employees.
Company and security representatives told the General Law Committee that an existing statute requiring publication of pharmaceutical representatives' names on the Department of Consumer Protection website raises safety concerns for front-line employees.
Pfizer security official Angel Melendez, who said he has decades of law-enforcement and national-security experience, told the committee that public posting of individual sales representatives' names creates a tangible safety risk for field staff who face threats and harassment. "Publishing their names on a state website without any recognizable benefit to the healthcare system only adds 1 more avenue for those seeking to potentially bring harm to our colleagues," Melendez said, supporting a proposed technical fix to remove the website-posting requirement.
The testimony noted the context of new reporting requirements enacted in Public Act 23-171, which created registration and reporting obligations for pharmaceutical marketing activity, including counts of contacts with prescribers and information about samples or gifts. Several companies signaled support for the underlying reporting aims — more transparency about interactions between manufacturers and prescribers — but said the public posting of individual names is unnecessary for transparency and increases risks for employees.
Lawmakers asked state staff and the negotiating teams to consider narrowly tailored language to preserve reporting and transparency while removing or narrowly tailoring the requirement to post personal names online.
Background: Public Act 23-171 established reporting obligations for pharmaceutical manufacturers. Industry witnesses and public-safety experts asked the General Law Committee to remove the provision that would require a prominent public posting of individual sales representatives' names, saying the change would reduce safety risks without undermining transparency objectives.
