Alexion: UK employees’ LinkedIn ‘likes’ brought US corporate post into scope; breach for high standards (AUTH/3051/6/18)

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Key facts

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Case number	AUTH/3051/6/18
Parties	Complainant v Alexion
Material	LinkedIn post linking to a press release about ALXN1210 (PNH) and EU submission
Main issue	UK employees ‘liking’ a corporate post amounted to proactive dissemination in the UK; lack of adequate UK-specific social media guidance
Applicable Code year	2016
Complaint received	26 June 2018 (HTML); 28 June 2018 (PDF)
Case completed	14 February 2019
Appeal	No appeal
Breach clauses	9.1
No breach clauses	2, 9.9, 26.1, 26.2
Sanctions	Undertaking received; Additional sanctions: Not stated
Panel nuance	No breach of Clauses 26.1/26.2 on a narrow technical point because ALXN1210 was not classified as a prescription only medicine at the time

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

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A UK health professional complained about a LinkedIn post appearing in their feed from Alexion Pharmaceuticals, linking to a press release about ALXN1210 (PNH) and EU regulatory submission.
The complainant alleged the post appeared because Alexion UK employees had ‘liked’ it, which pushed it to their connections (including UK non-HCPs).
The post/press release originated from Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (US) and was said by Alexion to be investor-focused, factual, and not targeted at the UK.
The Panel considered that ‘liking’ on LinkedIn can increase the likelihood content appears in connections’ feeds and can amount to proactive dissemination.
The Panel found it likely UK employees’ connections included members of the public; therefore the content was disseminated to the public on the balance of probabilities.
Alexion took the post down as a precaution and reviewed its social media policy, noting employees were permitted to ‘like’ corporate posts under the global policy.

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Breach: Clause 9.1.
No breach: Clauses 2, 9.9, 26.1, 26.2.
The Panel ruled that UK employees’ ‘likes’ brought the material within the scope of the Code in the UK.
No breach of public promotion clauses was found on a narrow technical point: ALXN1210 was not classified as a prescription only medicine at the time.

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