Five firms named in breaches of ABPI code

Five pharma firms - Astellas UK, Astellas Europe, Pfizer, Novartis Pharmaceuticals and Tor Generics – have been named in advertisements following breaches of the ABPI Code.

Astellas UK and Astellas Europe voluntarily admitted that the prescribing information for a number of their medicines had been incomplete, by the omission of some adverse events and the like. Both companies have also been publicly reprimanded.

Meanwhile, Pfizer and Novartis failed to comply with their previous undertakings, by continuing to misleadingly promote Ultibro Breezhaler (indacaterol/glycopyrronium) without setting that within the context of its licensed indication and for producing representatives’ briefing material that was not sufficiently clear.

Tor Generics was ruled to have breached the code for promoting Tor-bac (saline solution for injection) which was not yet licensed, but was expected to be classified as a prescription only medicine, in a magazine aimed at the public.