Advert - Astellas Europe

• Date posted
  01 August 2015
• Sanction
  Advertisement,
• Case number/s
  AUTH/2747/1/15 - Anonymous health professional v Astellas Pharma Europe

For organising a meeting which was not a genuine advisory board, and paying UK health professionals to attend that meeting where Xtandi (enzalutamide) was promoted for an unlicensed indication, Astellas Europe was ruled in breach of the following clauses of the Code:

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

Clause 9.1 - Failing to maintain high standards.

Clause 12.1 - Disguised promotion.

Clause 18.1 - Paying health professionals to attend a promotional meeting.

Clause 20.1 - Organising an advisory board that did not meet the criteria.

The Appeal Board was concerned that UK health professionals had attended on the understanding that the meeting was an advisory board and had been paid to do so. This was unacceptable. The Appeal Board decided to require Astellas Europe to issue a corrective statement to all the UK attendees at the meeting.

The full case report was published in the PMCPA August Code of Practice Review and is available at www.pmcpa.org.uk as is the text of
the corrective statement.