21 Amendments to the Code of Practice and Constitution and Procedure

21.1 The Code and this Constitution and Procedure may be amended by a simple majority of those present and voting at a General Meeting of the ABPI.

The ABPI Board may decide that formal approval at an ABPI General Meeting is not necessary where a proposal to amend the Code or this Constitution and Procedure arises solely from the ABPI’s obligation to comply with any code promulgated by the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA). ABPI member companies must nonetheless be consulted in relation to the proposed texts of the changes.

21.2 The views of the Authority and the Appeal Board must be sought on any proposal to amend the Code or this Constitution and Procedure. The views of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the Competition and Markets Authority, the Serious Fraud Office, the British Medical Association, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and the Royal College of Nursing must also be invited.

Where the ABPI Board has decided that formal approval of the proposal at an ABPI General Meeting is not necessary, then the bodies referred to above need only be informed of the amendments.

21.3 The Authority and the Appeal Board may make recommendations for amendment of the Code and this Constitution and Procedure.