PCF Antitrust Statement

The competitive marketplace is the cornerstone of the pharmaceutical industry. The Pharmaceutical Compliance Forum recognizes "skill, responsibility and integrity" is crucial to its success. Each participant of the Pharmaceutical Compliance Forum is committed to ethical principals and compliance with applicable laws. In the competitive marketplace, this means that we must each know and follow the letter and spirit of the antitrust laws. The Pharmaceutical Compliance Forum strongly endorses this commitment.

The antitrust laws, enacted by Congress and the states, protect the free market. Individual violators face potentially huge fines and may go to jail. Companies may be subject to large fines, penalties and treble damage awards. Violations can mean loss of the ability to perform any government contract work.

The antitrust laws are complex. They prohibit agreements among competitors that may fix or stabilize prices, rig bids, limit production or output, or divide up customers, territories or markets. Under the antitrust laws, it is also illegal to agree on group boycotts. Because these laws cover a broad range of conduct, participants of the Pharmaceutical Compliance Forum will not violate the antitrust laws through discussion of prices, discounts, terms and conditions of sale, territorial or customer allocations, profits, returns on investment, markets, customers, costs and other factors that effect competition bidding.

Discussions before, during or after meetings of the Pharmaceutical Compliance Forum will focus on ethics and compliance programs and issues. If there is ever any doubt or question about the priority of what is being discussed, we agree that we will immediately stop the discussion and seek appropriate legal advice. Each participant will agree and it will be reaffirmed before the commencement of each meeting that no participant of the Pharmaceutical Compliance Forum will take part in any anti-competitive conduct or discussion.