AUTH/2414/6/11: Hospital Doctor v AstraZeneca – “Training day research invitation” for rep capability workshop (No breach on appeal) | PMCPA Case

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Key facts

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Case	AUTH/2414/6/11
Parties	Hospital Doctor v AstraZeneca UK Limited
Complaint received	16 June 2011
Case completed	12 October 2011
Applicable Code year	2011
Activity type	Representatives training event (Capability Development Centre / CDC)
Invitation wording issue	Used “study/research” language; could imply market research; did not clearly explain training/assessment purpose
Fee mentioned	£600 in the complainant’s invitation (other stated daily rates: GP £500, specialist £600, payer £700)
Scale (June 2011 series)	11 regional events; 304 representatives; 206 health professionals; 910 assessed calls
Clauses considered	Clause(s) 12.1, 18.1 and 20.1
Final decision	No breach (Appeal Board)
Appeal	Appeal by respondent; successful on Clauses 12.1, 18.1, 20.1

Reviewed by Dr Anzal Qurbain (FFPM) — ABPI Final Signatory

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A hospital doctor received an email invitation (June 2011) headed “Training day research invitation”, sent by a market research agency on behalf of AstraZeneca (via a training service provider and other agencies).
The invitation described a “study”/“research” involving a day-long workshop with mock consultations with reps plus group/individual exercises, and stated “in no way will any element of day be promotional”.
Health professionals were offered a fee (the complainant’s invitation referenced £600).
The complainant said she was not being approached for relevant expertise (not an expert in training reps), noted her name was misspelt, and that she was asked to recruit colleagues; she alleged the approach was ethically dubious and in breach of the Code.
The activity was part of AstraZeneca’s “Competitive Capabilities” programme, delivered as Capability Development Centre (CDC) events: 11 regional events in June 2011 involving 304 representatives and 206 health professionals, with assessed calls (15 minutes for reps; 30 minutes for integrated healthcare specialists) and structured feedback.
Recruitment and invitations were handled by third parties; AstraZeneca and the training service provider had not seen the specific invitation email sent to the complainant.

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Final outcome (Appeal Board): No breach of the Code.
The Appeal Board accepted that using health professionals to train/assess company personnel can be legitimate, and found the CDC meeting was, on balance, a bona fide training event.
The Appeal Board criticised the invitation wording as poorly written and potentially implying market research, but did not consider the meeting to be disguised promotion.
Because the event was not disguised promotion, the consultancy fee was not an inducement and the consultant arrangements were acceptable on balance.

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