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Editorial

Nature Biotechnology 26, 1051 (1 October 2008) | doi:10.1038/nbt1008-1051

Defusing a time bomb

It looks like a done deal: the 2008 version of The Physician Payments Sunshine Act appears set to pass into law with the blessing of many large pharmaceutical and medical device companies, and their industry associations. The Act would require drug and medical device manufacturers to report gifts and payments (“transfers of value”) made to medical doctors into a national database that would be publicly accessible online.