Unethical pharmaceutical marketing: a self-regulating system must rehabilitate companies

I welcome Mulinari and Ozieranski’s detailed discussion about the role of self-regulation in pharmaceutical marketing.1 The authors are right to emphasise the important role of individual healthcare professionals and organisations in reporting breaches of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) code and in responding to any formal sanctions that are applied.An important aspect of any self-regulatory system is that it must rehabilitate companies in the self-regulatory framework to the required standard. Any company suspended from membership of the ABPI remains in the self-regulatory framework for the period of suspension and therefore under the jurisdiction of the Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority (PMCPA). In addition to investigating any further complaints, this allows additional measures to be taken, such as further audits or vetting a company’s materials. Transparency is a critical component of self-regulation, and detailed reports of all rulings made are published on the PMCPA website. On review…
Read Original Article: Unethical pharmaceutical marketing: a self-regulating system must rehabilitate companies »