Recognizing the indispensable role of health care companies in disease and injury prevention and treatment, the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology welcomes opportunities for cooperative programs with industry. To help give direction to cooperative programs, the College has created guidelines for its participation with industry.
Types of Cooperative Programs
Among the kinds of cooperative programs that are especially welcomed by the College are:
- public education
- physician training
- continuing medical education
- clinical and socioeconomic research
- recognition for outstanding service
General Principles
Cooperative programs with industry are guided by these general principles:
- The College is impartial in its cooperation with health care companies. All ethical companies have an equal opportunity to approach the College with proposals for programs.
- The College reserves the right to give primary cooperation to companies that, over the years, have supported our profession and participated as an advertiser in our publications and exhibitor at our meetings.
- The College does not endorse specific brand-name products for use by allergists or patients. Therefore, a cooperative program must not state or imply an endorsement, or give the appearance of an endorsement of a commercial product or service.
- The College believes that companies should receive recognition for their support of the profession and its programs. Therefore, as a matter of policy, the College liberally acknowledges and publicizes corporate sponsors and programs.
Specific Requirements for Cooperative Programs
- All uses of the name and logo of the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology must be approved by the Board of Regents, its Executive Committee, or other designated liaison to the program.
- Public education programs must be free of any name-brand or trademark commercial content or advertising message. However, acknowledgment may be given for corporate and/or brand support, such as credits at the beginning or end of a booklet or audiovisual program or signage during an event. In certain instances, determined on a case-by-case basis, commercial materials may be distributed in combination with public education materials.
- Programs intended for continuing medical education must conform to the rules and guidelines of the Accreditation council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME).
- The College shall own all rights to corporate-sponsored materials and activities.
- A company participating in a cooperative program retains the “right of first refusal” for any continuation or renewal of that program. If a company ceases to sponsor a cooperative program, the College retains the right to enter into an alternative sponsorship agreement with another company, or to continue the program without a corporate partner.
- The College shall have the right to sell corporate-sponsored materials and programs at a price that covers direct and indirect costs, order processing and fulfillment, and provides a reasonable profit to the College.
- The corporate sponsor must underwrite the entire cost of a material directed to the profession in order to have a product advertisement in the sponsored material. Funding at a lesser level shall be considered as a corporate grant, and acknowledgment of the grant shall be included at the beginning and/or end of the material but no advertisement shall be included.
