Home About Us Contact Us Index Search Consumer Topics Back Issues

Medicines Australia Code of Conduct: breaches

(Aust Prescr 2006;29:164-5)

Medicines Australia has a code of conduct to guide the promotion of prescription drugs by pharmaceutical companies in Australia.1 Complaints are reviewed by the Code of Conduct Committee and the results are published in its annual report. The report for 2005-06 is available on the Medicines Australia website.2

There were 27 new complaints in 2005-06. Seven are unresolved, but the report includes three complaints held over from the previous year. The Code of Conduct Committee found breaches in 11 of the complaints it finalised (Table 1).

The number of complaints coming from health professionals almost equalled the number made by companies about their competitors. In one case eight pharmaceutical companies were alleged to have breached the Code of Conduct with their advertisements in electronic prescribing software.3 The Code of Conduct Committee required six of these companies to revise their advertising.

During the year the Code of Conduct Committee had to consider whether a venue was of more than 'reasonable quality'. It also judged if the hospitality offered to specialists was 'sumptuous' or 'simple and modest'. Probably for the first time the Code was applied across the Tasman. A cruise vessel on Auckland harbour was not considered to be an appropriate place for an educational event.

In total 11 complaints were found to have identified breaches of the Code of Conduct. Details of the complaints can be found in the annual report.2 Analysis of these complaints should lead to improvements in the Code. The 15^th edition of the Code of Conduct should be available in 2007.

References

1. Medicines Australia. Code of Conduct. 14^th ed. Canberra: Medicines Australia; 2003.

2. 2006 Code of Conduct Annual Report. Canberra: Medicines Australia; 2006. www.medicinesaustralia.com.au [cited 2006 Nov 10]

3. Harvey KJ, Vitry AI, Roughead E, Aroni R, Ballenden N, Faggotter R. Pharmaceutical advertisements in prescribing software: an analysis. Med J Aust 2005;183:75-9.

Table 1 Breaches of the Medicines Australia Code of Conduct July 2005 - June 2006 Company Complaint Sanction imposed by Code of Conduct Committee Drug - brand name Drug - generic name Alcon Patanol olopatadine Advertisement in prescribing software to be revised Boehringer Ingelheim Asasantin aspirin/dipyridamole Advertisement in prescribing software to be revised GlaxoSmithKline Avandia rosiglitazone Advertisement in prescribing software to be revised Pfizer Norvasc amlodipine Advertisement in prescribing software to be revised Celebrex celecoxib Advertisement in prescribing software to be withdrawn Sanofi-Aventis Actonel risedronate Advertisement in prescribing software to be revised Solvay Zanidip lercanidipine Advertisement in prescribing software to be revised Abbott Sevorane sevoflurane Withdrawal of detail aid Corrective letter to everyone who received the detail aid $25 000 fine AstraZeneca Symbicort budesonide/eformoterol Withdrawal of promotional material Corrective letter to general practitioners and respiratory physicians $50 000 fine Baxter Sponsored educational meeting during harbour cruise No further educational meetings to be held at same or similar venue as the harbour cruise Bayer Levitra vardenafil Withdrawal of promotional material from website, and patient brochure Corrective letter to doctors invited to join register of doctors interested in men's health Douglas Estelle-35ED * cyproterone/ ethinyloestradiol Withdrawal of promotional material Corrective advertisement (same size as original) in Australian Journal of Pharmacy and other journals GlaxoSmithKline Seretide fluticasone/salmeterol Withdrawal of promotional material Corrective letter to general practitioners and respiratory physicians $15 000 fine Merck Sharp & Dohme Zocor simvastatin Withdrawal of promotional material Corrective letter to medical practitioners $20 000 fine Pfizer Somac pantoprazole Withdrawal of promotional material previously found in breach of the Code $100 000 fine Pfizer Vfend voriconazole Withdrawal of promotional material $20 000 fine Solvay Zanidip lercanidipine Withdrawal of promotional material $30 000 fine * See also: She needs safe and reliable contraception, not a treatment for severe acne! EstelleTM-35ED (cyproterone-oestradiol) (Douglas). Healthy Skepticism. AdWatch 2006 Apr. http://www.healthyskepticism.org/adwatch.php [cited 2006 Nov 9]

In the December issue of RADAR see reviews of: Rosuvastatin (Crestor) for dyslipidaemia Amlodipine with atorvastatin (Caduet) for dyslipidaemia with concomitant hypertension or angina Imiquimod cream (Aldara) for superficial basal cell carcinoma Insulin glargine (Lantus) for type 1 and 2 diabetes mellitus Pimecrolimus cream (Elidel) for facial atopic dermatitis (update) NPS RADAR (www.npsradar.org.au) provides timely, independent, evidence-based information on new drugs, research and new listings on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.