Ferring: Uncertified Nocdurna supplement remained accessible online years after intended withdrawal (AUTH/3370/8/20)

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Key facts

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Case number	AUTH/3370/8/20
Company	Ferring Pharmaceuticals Ltd
Complainant	Concerned UK health professional
Material	Supplement “Trends Urology and Men’s Health” (Practical approach to diagnosis and management of nocturia)
Medicine	Nocdurna (desmopressin)
Issue	Supplement remained accessible online beyond stated hosting end date; appeared not to have been certified/recertified while still accessible
Stated hosting end date	December 2017
Accessibility finding	Still available on a WordPress microsite builder and potentially discoverable via search engines; accessible for over 2.5 years beyond intended withdrawal
Complaint received	11 August 2020
Case completed	29 January 2021
Applicable Code year	2019
Clauses considered	9.1, 14.1, 14.5
Breaches	9.1, 14.5
No breach / no ruling	14.1 (no ruling made)
Sanctions	Undertaking received; additional sanctions not stated
Appeal	No appeal

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

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A UK health professional complained that a Ferring-commissioned/sponsored supplement (“Trends Urology and Men’s Health”) was still available online despite stating it would be hosted only until December 2017.
The supplement included UK prescribing information for Nocdurna (desmopressin), including NHS price and the UK company address.
Ferring said the supplement was owned/placed by its European Commercial Organisation (ECO) (based in Switzerland, later disbanded) and the UK affiliate was unaware of it.
An agreement (signed April 2017) required withdrawal after six months; the homepage feature box link was removed automatically when hosting expired, but the PDF remained hosted in a WordPress “microsite builder”.
The PDF could still be accessed if someone had the direct link and could potentially be found via search engines; it remained accessible for over two and a half years beyond the intended withdrawal date.
Ferring removed the supplement from the publisher’s microsite builder within a day of receiving the complaint.
The Panel considered the material within scope of the UK Code due to its European reach including the UK and inclusion of UK prescribing information; UK companies are responsible for overseas affiliates and third parties where UK Code scope applies.

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