Healthcare professionals and organizations need to respond more forcefully to unethical marketing from the pharmaceutical industry. Read here, why this is important.
In most European countries as well as Japan, Canada and Australia, the regulation of marketing practices relies heavily on industry self-regulation in which industry trade groups are trusted to set and police the rules of appropriate industry conduct. Among these, the Code of Practice of the Association of British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) is one of the best-known industry rule books.
The review argues that leaving self-regulation in the industry’s hands is not sustainable. The research cites the recent example of the Danish drug company Novo Nordisk, which in March 2023 was suspended from the ABPI for serious breaches of its Code of Practice following a widely publicized scandal involving the unethical marketing of its anti-obesity drug Saxenda®.
The complaint that led to its suspension argued that Novo Nordisk had sponsored courses for health professionals on using the company’s drug for weight management without making clear the company’s involvement. The review highlights how the company ‘orchestrated a large-scale Saxenda® promotional campaign… downplaying [the drug’s] side effects.’
The suspension followed the case of the Japanese company Astellas, suspended from ABPI for one year in 2016. In this case, the company was suspended for, among other things, promoting its prostate cancer drug Xtandi® for use in a larger group of patients than had been approved at the time by the drug regulator, which could have seriously endangered patient safety.
Dr. Shai Mulinari says: “We have been studying the influence of major drugs companies on healthcare systems around the world for over a decade. Both cases highlight the pressing need for healthcare professionals to distance themselves from offending companies and demand much stronger and tougher regulation. “What both the Novo Nordisk and Astellas cases have in common is the tacit acceptance of a vast majority of healthcare professionals and organizations exposed to the companies’ unethical marketing.”
Dr. Piotr Ozieranski added: “International research suggests that responses by healthcare professionals and organizations to industry misbehavior vary. Some have acted proactively, opting to avoid industry funding and sponsorship, whilst others maintain ties.“
“We argue that NHS organizations, universities and medical professionals’ organizations need to exercise much greater caution when collaborating with companies; at the very least reviewing and revising ties with companies which have been in breach of the ABPI Code. To enhance trust and transparency, the rationale for actions taken in relation to offending companies should be available to the public.“
“In addition, healthcare professionals and organizations should harness their economic and professional power to better hold their corporate collaborators accountable for unethical behavior. For example, the Royal Colleges of Physicians and General Practitioners have now ended their partnerships with Novo Nordisk, returning any outstanding grants and pausing any associated projects. Such decisive reactions to company misconduct serve as an important precedent in challenging unethical behavior, particularly in a self-regulatory system that rely on appealing to companies’ reputations.”
The researchers say new training programs need to be developed focusing on healthcare professionals’ ability to recognize and react to questionable marketing. They also call for stronger sector-wide policies on industry collaborations, such as those via NHS England and the Charity Commission.
“Replacing self-regulation with a new state-regulatory system is currently difficult to imagine. However, even within the existing system, policymakers could adopt a more probing and punitive strategy to tackling corporate wrongdoing, including investigating whether known misconduct indicates more extensive problems, and extending support for whistleblowing,” Mulinari says.
This article is based on a press release by the University of Bath. You can find the original publication here.
Image source: Jason Goodman, Unsplash
