Advert - Merck Serono

For sending out a press release about Erbitux clinical trial data which, by the inclusion of misleading and exaggerated claims, provided the public with unbalanced information about survival rates in metastatic colorectal cancer, Merck Serono was ruled in breach of the following clauses of the Code:

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

Clause 7.2 - Making a misleading claim

Clause 7.3 - Making a misleading comparison

Clause 7.10 - Making an exaggerated claim

Clause 9.1 - Failing to maintain high standards

Clause 10.2 - Providing a misleading quotation

Clause 22.2 - Making information available to the public which was not factual or presented in a balanced way.

Advert - November 2014