Read all about it here.Twelve Big Pharma companies attracted 20 complaints between July and December 2006; 13 of which were upheld by MSA's independent Code of Conduct committee.
Bayer's product Levitra (vardenafil) received four upheld complaints about a money back guarantee campaign which aimed to stimulate consumers to seek prescriptions for their product.
Sanctions applied included an order to cease offering the money back guarantee, sending a corrective letter to healthcare professionals who had received the material and inserting a corrective advertisement in all healthcare professional journals where the offending advertisement had appeared.
Schering's product Betaferon (interferon beta-1b) attracted two upheld complaints for promoting unapproved indications and promoting a prescription product to the general public.
Sanctions included the recall of promotional material, corrective letters and fines of $150,000and $100,000 respectively.
Roche attracted upheld complaints about excessive hospitality which included a dinner for 200 cancer specialists at the Sydney Opera House Bennelong restaurant costing more than $200 a head. They were fined $75,000.
AstraZeneca's product Crestor (rosuvastatin) attracted an upheld complaint for promoting false and misleading claims. Sanctions applied included an order to send a corrective letter to healthcare professionals who had received the offending material and a fine of $75,000.
Sanctions applied to other companies with upheld complaints included orders for corrective letters and fines ranging from $25,000 to $10,000.
Both Medicines Australia and the government argue that the outcomes detailed above show that self-regulatory Codes of Conduct are working.
Others disagree.
Finalised Code complaint reports show that some companies have been associated with repeated code breaches over many years, despite the sanctions applied by Medicines Australia.
The maximum fine that can be imposed by Medicines Australia is $200,000; a minuscule amount compared to the profit that can be generated from "creative" promotional campaigns.
Contrast Medicines Australia fines with those of the US Federal Trade Commission.
The latter recently settled allegations that the claims of four weight loss products were not supported by competent and reliable scientific evidence by recovering US $25 million from the offending companies, as well as limiting their future advertising claims.
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