AUTH/3808/8/23: Complainant v Sun Pharma — ability to contact the company (No breach)

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Key facts

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Case number	AUTH/3808/8/23
Parties	Complainant v Sun Pharma UK Limited
Issue	Ability to contact the company (telephone number and website allegedly not functional)
Applicable Code year	2021
Complaint received	01 August 2023
Case completed	11 December 2024
Panel decision	Breach of Clause 5.1 (telephone accessibility); No breach of Clause 5.1 (website accessibility)
Appeal	Appeal by the respondent (Sun Pharma) successful on the breach point
Final outcome	No breach of Clause 5.1 (x2)
Additional sanctions	None stated

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

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An anonymous complainant said they had tried for two weeks to contact Sun Pharma but phone numbers found online did not work (one went to a Vodafone voicemail; another was unavailable) and the website “blocks you as soon as you click on anything”.
The complainant said the patient information leaflet (PIL) in their medicine pack had no phone number and they needed to confirm the country of origin before using the medicine.
Sun Pharma said it had an IT security incident that temporarily affected the UK office VoIP line, but medical information and customer service lines continued to work.
Sun Pharma said the website was accessible and that the complainant’s issue might relate to their SIM service provider; it also said it would add further contact information to the website.
The Panel noted the office line disruption appeared to last at least four and a half weeks (from around two weeks before 1 Aug 2023 until 17 Aug 2023).
The complainant provided a screenshot (1 Aug 2023) showing a “rate limited” message stating the website owner had temporarily banned access.
Sun Pharma appealed the Panel’s breach finding, stating voicemail messaging redirected callers to the medical information line and that other contact routes (PIL/EMC/yellow card/website email) were available.

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No breach of Clause 5.1 (x2) under the 2021 Code.
Panel: breach of Clause 5.1 for telephone accessibility; no breach for website accessibility.
Appeal Board: overturned the Panel’s breach ruling on telephone accessibility; ruled no breach of Clause 5.1.
Panel also asked that Sun Pharma be advised of its concerns about ensuring patient contact details are easy to find and clearly signposted, with robust monitoring and review processes.

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