PMCPA Case Library

AUTH/3689/8/22 CSL Vifor Clause 5.1 Clause 8.1 Clause 8.4

CSL Vifor voluntary admission: Ferinject conference banners shown to UK HCPs without UK certification (AUTH/3689/8/22)

At ESC-HFA 2022, Ferinject banner ads ran on the congress site/Medscape and unintentionally reached UK HCPs for 60 days without…

AUTH/3687/8/22 AstraZeneca Clause 11.2 Clause 26.1 Clause 5.1

AstraZeneca: UK employees’ LinkedIn ‘likes’ treated as proactive dissemination of US Enhertu post (AUTH/3687/8/22)

Eight UK-based AstraZeneca employees ‘liked’ a US LinkedIn post linking to an Enhertu press release. The PMCPA ruled this proactively…

AUTH/3683/8/22 AstraZeneca

AUTH/3683/8/22: Complainant v AstraZeneca — Trixeo prescribing summary card (No breach)

Complaint about Trixeo promotional claims (spacer use, lung deposition %, and missing Symbicort PI). PMCPA Panel found no breach of…

AUTH/3708/11/22 GlaxoSmithKline Clause 5.1 Clause 6.1 Clause 6.2

GSK at ERS 2022: COPD network meta-analysis slides ruled misleading; MSL presence on promo stand not proven promotional

At ERS 2022, GSK-sponsored symposium slides on a COPD network meta-analysis were ruled misleading/unsubstantiated (Clauses 6.1, 6.2, 5.1). Allegations about…

AUTH/3748/2/23 Otsuka Clause 6 ⭐ Case of the Week

Otsuka Europe website: outdated partner statement ruled inaccurate (AUTH/3748/2/23)

Otsuka’s “Therapy Areas in Europe” webpage still referenced working with partner Akebia on CKD anaemia after the agreement ended. PMCPA…

AUTH/3794/7/23 Merck Serono Clause 2 Clause 24 Clause 5

Merck Serono fertility event: co-chairs’ consultancy contracts not signed before services began (AUTH/3794/7/23)

PMCPA found Merck Serono failed to maintain high standards after two event co-chairs’ consultancy agreements were not agreed/signed in advance…

AUTH/3779/6/23 Boehringer Ingelheim

AUTH/3779/6/23 & AUTH/3780/6/23: Ex-employee complaint about alliance promotional material approval process (BI/Lilly) – No breach

Ex-employee alleged BI/Lilly alliance PMAP SOP and training were not accessible/controlled and that “agreements outside PMAP” existed. Panel found allegations…

AUTH/3870/1/24 AstraZeneca

AUTH/3870/1/24: Complainant v AstraZeneca — Allegations about clinical trial material (Out of scope)

PMCPA case AUTH/3870/1/24 against AstraZeneca concerned allegations about clinical trial material. The matter was found outwith the scope of the…

AUTH/3817/9/23 AstraZeneca

AUTH/3817/9/23: AstraZeneca SENTINEL Plus website and MART references — no breach

Complaint alleged MART references on AstraZeneca’s SENTINEL Plus HCP website indirectly promoted Symbicort and therefore needed PI and an AE…

AUTH/3829/9/23 GlaxoSmithKline ⭐ Case of the Week

AUTH/3829/9/23: Complainant v GSK — event website sponsorship declaration (no breach)

Complaint alleged GSK sponsorship of an HCP event wasn’t disclosed on the homepage or registration pages. Panel found sponsorship was…

AUTH/3856/11/23 Idorsia

PMCPA AUTH/3856/11/23: Complainant v Idorsia (Quviviq) — ‘chronic insomnia’ wording in GP website ads (No breach)

Two Idorsia banner ads for Quviviq used the term “chronic insomnia”. Complaint alleged off-licence promotion vs SmPC. Panel found authoritative…

AUTH/3888/4/24 Pfizer Clause 2 Clause 3.1 Clause 3.3

Pfizer: Covid-19 vaccine Phase 3 efficacy tweets ruled promotional pre-authorisation and in breach of undertaking (AUTH/3888/4/24)

Pfizer UK’s 2020 Twitter thread on Phase 3 Covid-19 vaccine results (plus linked BioNTech content and press release) was ruled…

AUTH/3907/05/24 Jazz Pharmaceuticals Clause 23.2 Clause 25.3

Jazz Pharmaceuticals UK breached transparency rules for patient organisation-funded family guide (AUTH/3907/05/24)

Jazz funded a patient organisation’s “Family Guide” via unrestricted grants. The funding declaration appeared in small font on page 5…

AUTH/3903/5/24 GlaxoSmithKline

AUTH/3903/5/24: Complainant v GSK (Blenrep website safety claim) – No breach

Complaint challenged a Blenrep website claim (“generally well tolerated and manageable safety profile”) as misleading/unqualified. Panel found the claim sufficiently…

2019

AUTH/3168/2/19 Janssen Clause 4 Clause 7 Clause 9

Janssen Medical Cloud website: out-of-date prescribing information in materials, misleading graph scale, and unqualified use of “safe”

A UK health professional complained about Janssen’s HCP website. The Panel found some prescribing information was out-of-date, one graph exaggerated…

AUTH/2116/4/08 Reckitt Benckiser Clause 9

AUTH/2116/4/08: General practitioner v Reckitt Benckiser Healthcare – unsolicited promotional email (Gaviscon Advance)

A GP complained that he continued to receive promotional emails after opting out. A third-party agency failed to remove his…

AUTH/2151/7/08 Eli Lilly Clause 2 Clause 22 Clause 9

Lilly 40over40 erectile dysfunction awareness campaign: website chart and leaflet found to encourage requests for a specific POM

A Financial Times article triggered a Director complaint about Lilly’s 40over40 ED campaign. TV ad was not in breach, but…

AUTH/2148/7/08 Trinity-Chiesi Pharmaceuticals

AUTH/2148/7/08 AstraZeneca v Trinity-Chiesi: Fostair cost comparison chart

AstraZeneca challenged Trinity-Chiesi’s Fostair cost comparison chart as incomplete and misleading. The Panel found the chart acceptable in context and…

AUTH/2131/6/08 Grünenthal Clause 7.2 Clause 7.4 ⭐ Case of the Week

AUTH/2131/6/08: Community pharmacist v Grünenthal Ltd – promotion of Versatis and use of interim comparative data

A pharmacist challenged claims that Versatis was comparable to pregabalin (and possibly gabapentin) and had fewer side-effects/interactions. The Panel found…

AUTH/2089/1/08 Goldshield Clause 9

Goldshield: unsolicited promotional email sent via agency to GP’s NHS address (MacroBid)

A GP received an unsolicited promotional email about MacroBid via an agency. The Panel and Appeal Board found no evidence…