# Trends in Research Payments From Industry to Dermatologists

## TL;DR

This study examines trends in industry research payments to dermatologists from 2015 to 2023, revealing most funds go to non-covered entities with limited transparency.

## Contribution

The study provides the first detailed analysis of research payment trends in dermatology, focusing on non-covered entities and their financial relationships with industry.

## Key findings

- Most research payments to dermatologists were directed to non-covered entities with physician principal investigators.
- Four pharmaceutical companies accounted for nearly half of all research payments to dermatologists between 2015 and 2023.
- Despite a decline in payments to non-covered entities, the trend was not statistically significant over the study period.

## Abstract

Introduction: The Open Payments Program (OPP) requires manufacturers to report payments to various entities involving physicians, aiming to increase transparency in industry-physician financial relationships. While general payments have been extensively studied, research payments, particularly those to non-covered entities (NCEs), remain poorly studied. Dermatology, a rapidly evolving specialty with significant industry-sponsored research activity, offers an ideal case to examine trends in research payments.

Methods: This was a record-based longitudinal study using research payment data from dermatologists in 2015-2023 in the OPP database. Both direct research payments (payments directly to physicians) and associated research payments (payments to teaching hospitals and NCEs with physician principal investigators (PIs)) were included. Payments were inflation-adjusted to 2023 U.S. dollars using the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U).

Results: Between 2015 and 2023, 1,610 dermatologists received a total of $1.44 billion in research payments, with an average of 84% directed to NCEs with a dermatologist PI. Research payments to NCEs with a dermatologist PI declined from $161.0 million in 2015 to $107.6 million in 2023, but the overall trend was not statistically significant (p = 0.27). The top 10 NCE organizations received $179 million, with most being private institutions involved in pharmaceutical clinical trials. Four pharmaceutical companies accounted for nearly half of all research payments.

Conclusion: Most research payments from the industry to dermatologists originated from a small number of pharmaceutical companies and were directed to NCEs, which have minimal reporting requirements. These findings underscore gaps in transparency within the OPP and highlight the need for new disclosure requirements regarding the distribution and use of funds to NCEs.