Woman accesses external funding data on a tablet in the office

Philanthropy & External Funding Program Design & Support

The life sciences industry is a leader in corporate social responsibility, returning millions to the healthcare community by supporting independent medical education and charitable contributions.

Though significant compliance risks persist when providing funding support to appropriate organizations, it is an important component of the overall value to the healthcare community.

Philanthropy in life sciences

As committed corporate partners in the global healthcare system, medical device, pharmaceutical and other life sciences companies provide substantial funding support to the healthcare missions of physician networks, teaching hospitals, medical societies, patient advocacy organizations and many others. In addition to charitable contributions, industry organizations also routinely provide educational grants for accredited medical education. Companies must respect the independence of partner organizations and provide unrestricted contribution and grant funding.

Restricted use funding

Life sciences companies can also provide restricted use funding in the form of a corporate sponsorship. Sponsorships generally include business opportunities to promote company brands.

It is essential that requests for funding be appropriately classified to ensure the proper application of due diligence procedures and other compliance controls.

Funding program design

Concerns over how recipient organizations may influence treatment decisions of physicians is the determining factor in how compliance funding programs must be designed. It is essential to establish giving strategies that align with corporate values and objectives. The roles of various stakeholders from medical affairs, to legal and commercial need to be proactively accounted for in the program design.

Solutions to protect value

At Baker Tilly, we believe life sciences organizations should take pride in their role as responsible corporate partners in the global healthcare system. Our consultants support clients in developing proactive strategies that enhance the value of the corporate brand while effectively managing the risk.

Our clients trust us to support them in:

Developing global philanthropy strategies
Implementing funding strategies for continuing medical education
Implementing programs and processes to manage the funding of corporate sponsorships, charitable contributions and educational grants
Establishing risk-based due diligence procedures and other compliance internal controls
Developing patient advocacy funding programs, including programs to fund independent charitable patient assistance programs