Advert - Vifor Pharma – Case AUTH/3224/7/19

• Date posted
  21 June 2022
• Sanction
  Advertisement,
• Case number/s
  AUTH/3224/7/19 - Pharmacosmos v Vifor

The Appeal Board required Vifor to be audited for making misleading and inaccurate claims which favourably differentiated Ferinject (ferric carboxymaltose) from a competitor on the grounds of tolerability. Vifor Pharma was previously ruled in breach of the following clauses of the 2019 Code:

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

Clause 7.2 - Making misleading and inaccurate claims

Clause 7.3 - Making misleading comparisons

Clause 8.1 - Disparaging a competitor product

Clause 9.1 - Failing to maintain high standards

In both cases Vifor had been previously publicly remanded (February 2021) for its failure to provide accurate and truthful information to the Code of Practice Panel and its disingenuous approach to responding to the complaints. The Appeal Board had also required an audit of Vifor’s procedures in relation to the Code and two further re-audits. At the consideration of the report of the second re-audit and Vifor’s response, the Appeal Board decided that Vifor should be publicly reprimanded for its lack of progress. The Appeal Board also decided that Vifor should be re-audited in September/October 2022.