Message from the Board of ETHICS

News

Dear ETHICS  member,
Let me first,on behalf of our Board of Directors,wish for you and your families a Very Happy and Healthy New year, full of joy,success and …ethics in your professional and personal life.

When we look back at 2012,we have many reasons to be very proud of what we have collectively achieved in just a few months – and you also have reasons to be impatient to see more results and actions.

Incorporated at the beginning of 2012,ETHICS has of today around 45 members,all professionals actively working as a compliance profession in large or middle-sized companies in the Healthcare sector.

The Strategic Committee of ETHICS,which is the basic governance body of the society,has met three times since the incorporation of the Association.

Strategy, priorities and action plans were actively discussed and put in place.  In addition, many contacts with Universities, academic Institutions and other stakeholders were made.  First priority was to quickly organize an event where all new members could network, exchange views and engage with stakeholders on pertinent and emerging healthcare ethics and compliance topics.

So, on Friday September 28th 2012 in Paris ,at the prestigious offices of Clifford Chance in the Place Vendôme, the first General Assembly of ETHICS was held.

From unanimous comments and messages received afterwards,it was deemed a very successful event with a mix of presentations and rountables facilitated by several prominent representatives from Universities or other Academic Institutions, other outside experts and experienced professionals in Healthcare Compliance.

Detailed Minutes of the General Assembly will be available here.

The Minutes evidence that there was variety of active debates and identified potential follow-up action items. The Strategic Committee has determined to set action plans and work-streams in place for the three following action items, each sponsored by two members of the Strategic Committee:

  • Action 1:  Create an expert sounding board forum to debate and discuss the value of Transparency in our sector.  The forum would include industry members and relevant external stakeholders such as Healthcare Professionals, Professional Societies, and others the work stream members would deem relevant.  The work stream would be responsible for putting together the composition of the forum, how the debate/discussion would happen, what are the objectives of the forum, and how any output would be used or disseminated.  This workstream will be sponsored by Jacques Fontas (GE Healthcare) and Pierre Dupourque (Pfizer).
  • Action 2:  Creation of a “tool kit” or repository for tools such as videos, quotes, case studies or other items that members can use when working within their organization to build a philosophy or culture of an ethical approach to business practices/ethics in decision making.  The workstream would be responsible for collecting initial items for the tool kit, who/where the tool kit will be managed for access by association members, and strategy for ongoing refreshing of items.  This workstream will be sponsored by Tamara Tubin (Biogen Idec) and Suzanne Durdevic (Boston Scientific).  Cecile Gousset (Sanofi) and Thomas Hauser (Siemens) will support.
  • Action 3:  Continuing Education for Ethics and Compliance Professionals:  Identifying and categorizing the skills necessary to operate as an effective Ethics and Compliance professional, surveying available ongoing educational offerings for the various competencies, and identifying where we can influence and shape educational offerings.  This workstream will be sponsored by Eva Gardyan-Eisenlohr (Bayer) in conjunction with members of the professional certification workstream sponsored by Ann Bacon (Novartis Pharma AG) and Roeland Van Aelst (Johnson & Johnson) and supported by Dominique Laymand (BMS), Maria Teresa Rico (Merck/MSD) and Michael Morgan (Eli Lilly).

We are convinced that General Assembly in 2013 will be an even more successful and important moment of our Association’s life. Please book the date on your Agenda: Thursday, September 26 (place to be determined).

We will come back to you in due time on this event and get your input and ideas for agenda items and seek the assistance of several of you for event preparation.

Please also note the upcoming Pharma Compliance Forum in Madrid from May 21st-23rd as it will be an important event for our community of Ethics and Compliance professionals.Many members of ETHICS will be there and have played a key role in the preparation and implementation of this event, and we have been recognized by the designation of ETHICS as one of the Forum sponsors.

This is a perfect example of the connections and relationships ETHICS intends to develop with the variety of organizations involved in Ethics and Compliance as a benefit to our members in making our profession more recognized everyday and helping each of you in managing your day-to-day roles and duties.

Another noteworthy milestone, our Internet Site ,will be soon ready for launch . In its first iteration, the site will mostly be a tool introducing the Association and actions and events pending or scheduled. Our goal is to develop it so that it will be a platform for exchange and dialog between members. Every member’s contribution, insight or assistance in improving the functionalities or content of the Site will be very welcome.

As part of our ambition to evolve and grow,we hope to further develop our membership globally,in particular through interactions with colleagues located in Asia Pacific and Latin America. Special responsibility has been assigned to identified members of the Strategic Committee to initiate or reinforce contacts with colleagues geographically located in those areas to explore how they could join ETHICS or contribute to our activities.  This is another way that members can assist us.  Those of you who could help in achieving this goal should not hesitate to contact us (Roeland, Dominique or Ann) to bring suggestions or recommendations.

As 2012 was our formation year,2013 will be the year of really establishing ETHICS as the reference Ethics and Compliance Professional Society our community expects. Your help and contributions will be needed and we know we can count on you!

 

Dominique LAYMAND
Chairman of the Board of ETHICS
INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY OF HEALTHCARE
ETHICS AND COMPLIANCE PROFESSIONALS