Anonymous v Roche: alleged conflict of interest (rep married to hepatitis C nurse specialist) – No breach | PMCPA Case

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Key facts

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Case	AUTH/2421/7/11 (PDF refers to CASE AUTH/2421/4/11)
Company	Roche
Complainant	Anonymous, non-contactable NHS employee
Product	Pegasys (peginterferon alfa-2a)
Main issue	Alleged conflict of interest (representative married to hepatitis C CNS at hospital in territory), plus bonuses/reward trip and speaker fees
Clauses considered	Clauses 2, 9.1, 15.2, 15.7 and 20.1
Decision	No breach of the Code
Panel notes	Concerns about perception/COI; 2010 incentive payment “on the limits of acceptability”; insufficient evidence on balance of probabilities
Complaint received	18 July 2011
Case completed	17 August 2011
Appeal	No appeal
Sanctions	None

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

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An anonymous, non-contactable NHS employee complained about Roche’s promotion of Pegasys (peginterferon alfa-2a) for hepatitis C.
The complaint focused on a Roche representative whose wife worked as a hepatitis C clinical nurse specialist (CNS) at a large teaching hospital in his territory.
The complainant alleged the wife was responsible for choosing hepatitis C treatment and that this created a conflict of interest.
The complainant alleged the couple benefited from large cash bonuses, a Caribbean trip reward, and additional income via speaker fees paid to the representative’s wife for Roche meetings.
Roche said the representative declared the potential conflict to line management; the wife did not actively prescribe and was not able to influence patient medication; and Pegasys was already the treatment of choice at the hospital before either worked there.
Roche said the wife spoke at four Roche meetings since 2009 under contract, with sponsorship disclosure required on slides.
Roche provided details of salary/incentives (2008–2010) and documentation for the incentive scheme and “Platinum” reward trip; the wife attended the trip as the representative’s guest.

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No breach of the Code was found.
The Panel noted the complainant was anonymous and non-contactable, with few details provided, making the allegations difficult to resolve and evidence harder to weigh.
The Panel had concerns about the potential conflict of interest and the impression created, and considered the 2010 incentive payment “on the limits of acceptability,” but concluded there was insufficient evidence (on the balance of probabilities) of conduct contrary to the Code.

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