The British drug-maker GlaxoSmithKline says it will stop paying doctors in New Zealand and elsewhere for promoting its products.
GSK announced last night that it will stop funding doctors to attend conferences, in a bid to be more open about its activities globally.
GSK says it has paid Australian healthcare professionals $NZ2.7million this year for promoting its products to their peers.
GSK New Zealand general manager Anna Stove will not say what was paid in New Zealand, or to how many people, but says the amounts are very small.
Stove says the drug-maker will phase out such payments internationally by 2015, to meet widespread expectations of increased transparency.
