Antitrust & Ethics Policies
Antitrust & Ethics Policies
It is the established policy of the Drug, Chemical & Associated Technologies Association and all of its operating committees to conduct their operations in strict compliance with the antitrust laws of the United States of America. The DCAT antitrust policy prohibits any discussions which constitute or imply any agreement or understanding concerning:
- prices, discounts or terms of conditions or sale;
- profits, profit margins or cost data;
- market shares, sales territories or markets;
- allocation of customers or territories;
- selection, rejection or termination of customers or suppliers;
- restricting the territory or markets in which a company may resell products;
- restricting the customers to whom a company may sell; or
- any matter which is inconsistent with the proposition that each member company of DCAT must exercise its independent business judgment in pricing its service or products, dealing with its customers and suppliers and choosing the markets in which it will compete.
Meetings of the DCAT Executive Committee, Board of Directors and all standing committees shall be conducted pursuant to agendas distributed to attendees and minutes of these meetings shall be distributed to attendees promptly. Actions taken at these meetings will be reported to the membership on a regular basis.
Policy Statement on Ethics
The Drug, Chemical & Associated Technologies Association (DCAT) is a not-for-profit, business development association for the global Bio/Pharmaceutical manufacturing value chain. The organization provides programs, events and services that help members meet their business objectives, expand their network of customers and suppliers, and gain insight into trends, markets, and issues impacting the pharmaceutical industry.
The business of the association is managed under the direction of the DCAT Board of Directors. DCAT’s Code of Ethics serves as a code of conduct for any association volunteer as well as for consultants and employees. Code violations may result in sanctions imposed under the Ethics Policy and Procedures and Code of Ethics. The principles and requirements that comprise the policies and procedures are based on and are designed to ensure full compliance by DCAT and its volunteers, consultants and employees with the fiduciary duties imposed on such individuals by state corporate law, the US federal tax code’s prohibition on private benefit, and other requirements of federal tax exemption, common law due process requirements, federal and state antitrust and unfair competition law, state tort law, and other legal precepts and prohibitions. At the same time, the code and procedures are not designed to supplant courts of law in the resolution of disputes within the members’ industry. Moreover, the checks and balances built into the code and procedures are designed to strike the proper balance between ensuring full compliance with the legal obligations described here and ensuring the integrity and efficacy of the code on the one hand and, on the other, the protection of volunteers, consultants and employees, through the use of reasonable due process procedures, against patently false, malicious, or groundless accusations that could result in significant business or personal harm if not properly handled. Volunteers, consultants and employees affirm their endorsement of the Code of Ethics and acknowledge their commitment to uphold its principles and obligations by accepting and retaining membership and or employment.
Procedure for the Code of Ethics
- This Code of Ethics in its written form shall pertain to all DCAT member company representatives or others who assume a volunteer role in the organization by election or appointment to the Board of Directors, Program Management Council, Administrative or Standing Committee, Task Force, or a person selected to lead or assist with any program, activity or initiative. The Code of Ethics shall also apply to any consultants and employees of the association.
- Persons interested in a volunteer position, or are nominated for such, shall be advised by the Executive Director of the Code of Ethics so they may review it. The Code of Ethics is included in the DCAT Employee Handbook.
- Prior to, or immediately upon, election or appointment, the Executive Director shall provide a document containing the Code of Ethics to each person for his or her signature. Each person will be required to sign and return that document within thirty (30) days of election or appointment.
- The Executive Director will notify the President of any person(s) who does not sign the document within the prescribed time.
- If a person fails to sign and return the Code of Ethics within the allotted time, he or she will not be entitled to participate in the volunteer position to which her or she has been elected or appointed until a copy of the Code of Ethics signed by that person is received by the Executive Director. If a signed copy of the Code of Ethics has not been received by the Executive Director within thirty (30) days, the person shall, by operation of the bylaws, be automatically removed from his or her leadership position.
- Person(s) assuming a leadership role are required to sign the Code of Ethics document at the beginning of their tenure. However, should any changes be made to the policy and Code of Ethics, person(s) will be asked to sign any updated document.
DCAT Code of Ethics
DCAT member company representatives who assume a volunteer role in the organization by election or appointment to the Board of Directors, Program Management Council, Administrative or Standing Committee, Task Force, or a person selected to lead or participate in any DCAT activity, consultants, and all employees of the association shall at all times abide by and conform to the following code of conduct.
Each will abide in all respects by DCAT’s Code of Ethics and all other rules and regulations of the association (including but not limited to the association’s articles of incorporation, bylaws and policies) and will ensure that their member company remains in good standing at all times. Furthermore, each will at all times obey all applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations and will provide or cause to provide the full cooperation of the association when requested to do so by those institutions and their persons set in authority as are required to uphold the law.
- Each will conduct the business affairs of the association in good faith and with honesty, integrity, due diligence, and reasonable competence.
- Except as the association president may otherwise require or as otherwise required by law, each agrees not to share, copy, reproduce, transmit, divulge or otherwise disclose any confidential information related to the affairs of the association outside of the association and each will uphold the strict confidentiality of all meetings and other deliberations and communications.
- Each will exercise proper authority and good judgment in his or her dealings with association staff, suppliers, and the general public and will respond to the needs of the association’s members in a responsible, respectful, and professional manner.
- Each agrees not to use any information provided by the association or acquired as a consequence of his or her service to the association in any manner other than in furtherance of his or her association duties. Further, each agrees not to misuse association property or resources and will at all times keep the association’s property secure and not allow any person not authorized by the president to have or use such property.
- Each will use his or her best efforts to regularly participate in professional development activities and will perform his or her assigned duties in a professional and timely manner pursuant to the board’s direction and oversight.
- Upon termination of service, each will promptly return to the association all documents, electronic and hard files, reference materials, and other property entrusted to him or her. Such return will not abrogate such person’s continuing obligations of confidentiality with respect to information acquired as a consequence of his or her tenure.
- Each will dedicate him or herself to leading by example in serving the needs of the association and its members and also in representing the interests and ideals of the industry represented by the membership at large.
- Each shall not persuade or attempt to persuade any employee of the association to leave the employ of the association or to become employed by any person or entity other than the association. Furthermore, each shall not persuade or attempt to persuade any member, exhibitor, advertiser, sponsor, subscriber, supplier, contractor, or any other person or entity with an actual or potential relationship to or with the association to terminate, curtail, or not enter into its relationship to or with the association, or to in any way reduce the monetary or other benefits to the association of such relationship, unless specifically authorized to do so by the president or the Executive Committee.
- Each person must act at all times in the best interests of the association and not for personal or third-party gain or financial enrichment. When encountering potential conflicts of interest, each must identify the conflict and, as required, remove themselves from all discussion and voting on the matter. Specifically, each shall follow these guidelines:
- Avoid placing (and avoid the appearance of placing) one’s own self-interest, member company interest or any third-party interest above that of the association; while the receipt of incidental personal or third-party benefit may necessarily flow from certain association activities, such benefit must be merely incidental to the primary benefit to the association and its purposes;
- Not abuse leadership status by improperly using the association’s staff, services, equipment, resources, or property for personal or third-party gain or pleasure; each shall not represent to third parties that their authority extends any further than that to which it actually extends;
- Not engage in any outside business, professional or other activities that would directly or indirectly materially adversely affect the association;
- Not engage in or facilitate any discriminatory or harassing behavior directed toward association staff, members, officers, directors, meeting attendees, exhibitors, advertisers, sponsors, suppliers, contractors, or others in the context of activities relating to the association;
- Not solicit or accept gifts, gratuities, free trips, honoraria, personal property, or any other item of value from any person or entity as a direct or indirect inducement to provide special treatment to such donor with respect to matters pertaining to the association without fully disclosing such items to the president; and
- Provide goods or services to the association as a paid vendor to the association only after full disclosure to, and advance approval by, the Board of Directors, and pursuant to any related procedures adopted by the board.
- With respect to any person who has agreed to, and signed, this Code of Ethics, the association shall indemnify and hold harmless that person’s member company from any action or proceeding brought against that person, the member company, or the association by reason of the fact that the person is or was in a leadership position of the association, and the association shall indemnify and hold harmless that company against judgments, fines, amounts paid in settlement and reasonable expenses, including attorneys’ fees, which resulted from that action or proceeding.
This policy was adopted by the leadership of the Drug, Chemical & Associated Technologies Association on January 4, 2007. Editorial Revisions September 8, 2020.