Chiesi, Lilly and Bayer named in advertisements for breaches of the ABPI Code

Chiesi Limited, Eli Lilly and Company Limited and Bayer Healthcare named in advertisements for breaches of the ABPI Code of Practice

Chiesi Limited, Eli Lilly and Company Limited and Bayer Healthcare named in advertisements for breaches of the ABPI Code of Practice.  Bayer Schering Pharma publicly reprimanded.

Chiesi Limited, Eli Lilly and Company Limited and Bayer Healthcare have each breached Clause 2 of the ABPI Code of Practice.  Bayer Schering Pharma has been publicly reprimanded.  To highlight these breaches and the public reprimand, all are the subject of advertisements in the medical, pharmaceutical and nursing press.

 

Bayer Schering Pharma – Case AUTH/2333/7/10
For being involved in the generation and distribution of a prescribing policy document on vardenafil (Levitra) that was described as being ‘Supported by an educational grant’, Bayer Schering Pharma was ruled in breach of the following clause of the Code: 

Clause 4.1- Failing to include prescribing information.

The Code of Practice Panel reported the company to the Code of Practice Appeal Board.  During its consideration of the matter, the Appeal Board learnt that the material was circulated more widely than previously indicated.  For failing to provide comprehensive information to the Authority, Bayer was publicly reprimanded by the Appeal Board.

Chiesi – Case AUTH/2352/8/10
For providing a clinical support service that it knew GPs were being encouraged locally to use to effect a switch programme, Chiesi was ruled in breach of the following clauses of the Code: 

Clause 2 - Bringing discredit upon, and reducing confidence in, the pharmaceutical industry.
Clause 9.1- Failing to maintain high standards.
Clause 18.4 - Failing to provide a genuine therapeutic review that included a comprehensive range of relevant treatment choices.

Eli Lilly – Case AUTH/2366/10/10
For providing inappropriate hospitality to two health professionals, Eli Lilly was ruled in breach of the following clauses of the Code:

Clause 2 - Bringing discredit upon the pharmaceutical industry.
Clause 9.1- Failing to maintain high standards.
Clause 15.2 - Representatives failing to maintain a high standard of ethical conduct.
Clause 19.1 - Providing excessive hospitality.

Bayer Healthcare – Case AUTH/2383/2/11
For issuing an advertisement about Yasmin which underplayed the side effects of the medicine and which was misleading and inconsistent with the summary of product characteristics, Bayer Healthcare was ruled in breach of the following clauses of the Code:
Clause 2 - Bringing discredit upon, and reducing confidence in, the pharmaceutical industry.
Clause 3.2 - Encouraging prescribers to consider prescribing Yasmin for reasons other than its licensed indication.
Clause 7.2 - Making misleading claims.
Clause 7.9 - Underplaying the side-effects of Yasmin.

The full case reports were published in the PMCPA May Code of Practice Review and are also available at www.pmcpa.org.uk.

Under provisions in its Constitution and Procedure, the Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority (PMCPA) advertises brief details of all cases where companies are ruled in breach of Clause 2 of the Code, are required to issue a corrective statement or are the subject of a public reprimand. 

The advertisements will appear in The Nursing Standard on 1 June 2011 and the BMJ and The Pharmaceutical Journal on 28 May 2011.

via pmcpa.org.uk

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