Bulletins

The ABPI Code of Practice for the Pharmaceutical Industry Second 2012 Edition is available to download from the PMCPA website.

July 2012
Grünenthal Ltd and Vifor Pharma UK Limited have each breached Clause 2 of the ABPI Code of Practice and are the subjects of advertisements in the medical, pharmaceutical and nursing press.

6 July 2012

Grünenthal Ltd and Vifor Pharma UK Limited have each breached Clause 2 of the ABPI Code of Practice and are the subject of advertisements in the medical, pharmaceutical and nursing press. In addition, Grünenthal has been publicly reprimanded.

Grünenthal – Case AUTH/2327/6/10
For the manner in which its health economic liaison managers raised interest in and awareness of an unlicensed medicine, Grünenthal was ruled in breach of the following clauses of the Code in 2010:

Clause 2 - Bringing discredit upon, and reducing confidence in, the

The publication of the recently updated ABPI Code of Practice for the Pharmaceutical Industry has been delayed.

The amendments to the Code were based on the anticipated changes to the new regulations (The Human Medicines Regulations 2012)which were due to be published last month and become law on 2 July 2012. These regulations are yet to be published. Once the regulations are finalised, the Second 2012 Edition of the Code will be made available.

15 June 2012

Proposals to amend the ABPI Code of Practice for the Pharmaceutical Industry were agreed at an Extraordinary General Meeting of the ABPI on Monday 11 June.

The changes to the Code of Practice and a summary of responses to the consultation are attached below.

Following a number of recent cases the PMCPA has issued guidance on the application of Clause 3 of the Code to various activities.

The guidance covers:

1. The provision of information about unauthorized medicines / indications
2. Promotion at international meetings held in the UK
3. Advance notification of new products or product changes
4. Guidance issued following Health Technology Assessments
5. Pharmaceutical company staff
6. Information to the public.

10 May 2012

Proposals to amend the ABPI Code of Practice for the Pharmaceutical Industry have been sent to companies and published on the PMCPA website.

The proposed amendments result from changes to the Code of Practice of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA) and to UK law.

The PMCPA has moved offices from 12 Whitehall to 7th Floor, Southside, 105 Victoria Street, London SW1E 6QT. All correspondence should be directed accordingly. All other lines of communication including,
telephone, email and fax remain unchanged.

The PMCPA has issued informal guidance on frequently asked questions about the 2011 Code.

This week is Code Awareness Week and the Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority (PMCPA) is launching an e-learning module for health professionals

London, 4 April 2011 – The pharmaceutical industry effectively self regulates and operates to the highest ethical standards as laid out in The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry’s Code of Practice for the Pharmaceutical Industry (the Code). This week is Code Awareness Week. The Code was recently updated and will become fully operational from 1 May. Key changes to note are: