The “unscrupulous and unethical” marketing practices revealed by compaign group Consumers International are essentially the product of two factors: misdirected legislation and intense industry competition.
The study was carried out in selected European markets that are subject to EU law prohibiting companies from directly marketing prescription drugs to consumers. So they target the middlemen – the medical profession. Admittedly doctors should know better (and are ethically bound to do so), but the often expensive business of developing innovative drugs means there is a lot at stake. The division between providing ‘good information’ and ‘the sell’ inevitably becomes blurred.
In the UK, the industry’s limited response to the report emphasised how the sheer number of reported breaches of the industry’s code (972 between 2002 and 2005) was testament to the effectiveness of self-regulation. Moreover, the industry body, the ABPI, has this year toughened its code of practice to encompass the industry’s dealings with patient groups. Now companies are obliged to reveal which ones they sponsor.
But self-regulation won’t work in isolation. These companies with sophisticated reporting techniques should be saying a lot more in their social reports about consumers – so often the poor cousin in social reporting.
Take the example of Nestlé and the controversial marketing of baby milk in Africa. Since running into trouble for alleged unethical marketing practices, Nestlé has developed a tough code of conduct that is published in its social report. Drug companies would do well to do the same.
CI’s recommendations make for good reading for any practitioner serious about transparent communication with consumers (the full report can be downloaded from the CI website). There are no simple solutions, but fortunately there are some practical steps the industry can take towards finding a remedy.
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Bad Medicine
Abbot, Pfizer, GSK and Roche are among drug companies accused of endangering public health through widespread marketing malpractice, in a report published by Consumers International on June 26.
Branding the cure: A consumer perspective on Corporate Social Responsibility, Drug Promotion, and the Pharmaceutical Industry in Europe analysed the conduct of 20 of the biggest pharmaceutical companies. Examples of alleged malpractice include persuading consumers to take drugs unnecessarily, misreprenting safety results, and providing inappropriate hospitality and gifts to healthcare professionals. CI says drug companies spend twice as much on marketing as on research – but do not publish information on their drug promotion practices. Of the 20, only Bristol-Myers Squibb provides a marketing code of practice. Contact Richard Lloyd, Consumers International 020 7226 6663 www.consumersinternational.org
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