Maine Repeals Laws Requiring Disclosures of Marketing Costs, Drug Prices, and Clinical Trials

By Nisha P. Shah –

Under a bill titled, “An Act to Make Certain Prescription Drug Disclosure Laws Consistent with Federal Law,” the State of Maine repealed three laws related to the reporting of marketing costs, price reporting, and the disclosure of clinical trials by manufacturers and labelers of prescription drugs dispensed in Maine. 

One repealed law, Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 22, § 2698-A, required manufacturers and labelers that employed or used marketing representatives in Maine to submit an annual report of certain marketing costs, including, but not limited to, (1) expenses associated with food, entertainment, gifts valued at more than $25, trips, and travel in connection with all licensed health care professionals and entities, and (2) costs associated with advertising, marketing, and promotion of prescription drugs as they pertained to Maine residents (unless the costs were for a regional or the national market).  The Maine legislature also repealed the $1,000 annual fee that was associated with the marketing report.  Note that the repeal does not affect the annual report and fee for CY 2010 that were due July 1, 2011.  The Maine reporting requirement was similar to marketing reporting laws in the District of Columbia and West Virginia.  Massachusetts and Vermont also have reporting requirements for marketing practices, though these laws extend to both pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers.  Another rescinded law, Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 22, § 2698-B, required disclosure, on a quarterly basis, of the average manufacturer price and best price for all drugs subject to the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program. 

Finally, Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 22, § 2700-A was amended to revoke the requirement that manufacturers and labelers of prescription drugs post information on clinical trials that they conducted or sponsored on a publicly accessible website.  Such information included a summary of the purpose of the clinical trial, the dates during which the trial has taken place, and the results of the clinical trial (including potential or actual adverse effects of the drug).  Manufacturers of prescription drugs that are provided through MaineCare (Maine’s Medicaid program) were required to pay an annual fee of $1,000, in part, for the posting of clinical trial results and the monitoring of adverse event reports.  Because this fee also was used to fund the state’s academic detailing program, the Maine legislature amended the bill to cut the annual fee to $500 beginning April 1, 2012. 

The repeal provisions are effective September 28, 2011, 90 days after the Maine legislature adjourned on June 29, 2011.