A Common Understanding 2025

Appendix 5 – Checklist for project agreements

Name of the collaborative project:

Points for inclusion in the agreement:

• The parties to the agreement, the date and the term of the agreement.
• The expected benefits for patients, the population or user groups, the NHS, pharmaceutical company and other organisation(s) as applicable.
• An outline of the financial arrangements.
• The roles and responsibilities of the NHS, the pharmaceutical company/companies and other organisations and how the success of the project will be measured, when and by whom.
• The planned publication of any data or outcomes.
• When any pharmaceutical company/companies enter into an agreement on the basis that its product is already included in an appropriate place on the local formulary, a clear reference to this should be included in the agreement so that all the parties are clear as to what has been agreed.
• Contingency arrangements to cover possible unforeseen circumstances such as changes to summaries of product characteristics and updated clinical guidance; agreements should include a dispute resolution clause and disengagement/exit criteria, including an acknowledgement by the parties that the project might need to be amended or stopped if a breach of the Code is ruled.
• Publication by the company of a summary of the agreement. This should be published on a clearly defined website or section of a website.
• Outcomes should be published by all parties as soon as possible and usually within six months of the project’s completion. Companies should publish the outcomes on their websites.