Two Consortia Become One Force in the Field of Privacy

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The International Pharmaceutical Privacy Consortium (IPPC) was formed in 2002 to help privacy professionals in the pharmaceutical industry respond to the growing complexities involved in data protection and navigate compliance challenges.  The European Union's 1995 Data Protection Directive had been transposed into EU member state laws and enforcement activity was just beginning to pick up. In the United States, health privacy requirements under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) were due to go into effect in 2003 and the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) brought its first data security case that same year.  In 2011, the Medical Device Privacy Consortium (MDPC) was launched to help medical device companies understand how emerging data protection laws impact the industry and enable a coordinated industry response to legislative and regulatory initiatives that could impede critical data flows.

Recognizing the value in sharing information across industries, in 2018 the IPPC and MDPC Consortiums merged to form the International Pharmaceutical & Medical Device Privacy Consortium (IPMPC).  This Consortium aims to provide a cost-effective means for companies to stay informed of and assess the implications of developments in global data privacy and security laws.  It provides a forum for companies to share ideas, experiences, and resources, including context-specific tools and guidance.  By fostering the development of industry benchmarks and best practices, individual members can compare their understanding of emerging data protection laws as well as their privacy compliance efforts and approaches with those of similarly situated companies. The IPMPC provides a vehicle to engage policy makers on how to protect individual privacy while still enabling the delivery of safe and effective medical technologies.