Our policy on working with pharmaceutical and medical device industries

Download our policy for working with pharmaceutical and medical device industries (PDF, 249.9 KB)

We work with industry when it can benefit people with MS. Those who make drugs and devices to treat MS can help us achieve a world free of MS.

But while the interests of people with MS and the companies who make treatments for MS may overlap, these interests aren’t the same. This is why we must make sure we deal with industry in a way that helps us keep our independence, integrity and transparency.

We’ve pulled together an overview of our key commitments in working with industry.

Our commitments

Retain independence and impartiality

We don’t want to lose our independence from having relationships with industry. This means we’ll take steps to work with multiple industry partners, rather than favouring just the one. We’ll also make sure not to unfairly favour one type of treatment over another.

Be open and transparent

It’s important to be open and transparent about our working relationships. This means we’ll report on all financial contributions in our annual accounts, which are published on our website. Previously, we reported contributions over £5,000. We’re also committed not to disclose any information on our members or supporters to other organisations.

Responsible financial support

Financial support from industry can provide a vital contribution to help us achieve our goals. However, we need to make sure there’s no attempt by the funder to influence our strategy or activity. To help do this, we’ll make sure no more than 5% of annual income should come from companies covered by this policy. We also ask that all donations made to staff, volunteers or anyone acting in the name of the MS Society, are made directly to the charity.