Pharmacy Daily | $800k MA code sanctions

Medicines Australia member companies last year paid a whopping $795,000 in fines and other penalties for breaches of the organisation’s code of conduct. According to the Medicines Australia annual report, there were 11 complaints finalised in 2012-13, mostly brought by rival pharmaceutical manufacturers. Three of the complainants were healthcare professionals, including a complaint by activist Ken Harvey about a Pfizer “community service announcement” for Lipitor which resulted in a $50,000 fine. Interestingly, this complaint also highlighted false information provided by some pharmacists about Lipitor, with some incorrectly claiming the product was no longer available because they were offering generic alternatives. Pfizer’s said it had been forced to publish ads about Lipitor still being available in order to counter this pharmacy misinformation. Other complaints upheld included Abbott Australia promotional material for Lipidil which resulted in a $100,000 fine; a Multiple Sclerosis educational booklet from Biogen Idec which saw the firm pay a $150,000 fine, and MSD promotional activities for Vytorin which resulted in a $125,000 sanction. A complaint brought by Novartis Pharmaceuticals about Bayer’s Elyea was not upheld, after allegations by Bayer that it was “frivolous and vexatious”. The committee ruled that the Bayer activity, which occurred at the RANZCO Queensland state branch meeting in August 2012, did not breach the Code. This decision was appealed by Novartis, and the Appeal Committee unanimously agreed with the finding, further hitting Novartis by deciding that because the appeal was not upheld the $250,000 bond paid by the company when it lodged the appeal “should be retained by Medicines Australia”.

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