good promotional practices

New Week in Review, November 18, 2013

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The APBI amends its Code of Practice, a doctor in Scotland looks for Sunshine, PhRMA sues the state of Maine over drug importation, and a congressman from New Jersey seeks clarification on how food provided to CME program speakers and attendees is reported.

The big day is almost here…if you have a tween or teenager, you are probably well aware that the long-awaited opening of the film, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, is this Friday! With a number of theaters premiering the film a day early, we’re left with precious few hours to practice our skills for the archery tournament and best braid contest. But before we prepare for our time in the Arena, we pause to present you with a week’s worth of compliance news, with the News in Review.

Our first “tribute” comes courtesy of the ABPI, whose members have agreed to amend the Code of Practice to include greater transparency on payments made to HCPs and healthcare organizations. APBI’s chief executive views the changes to the Code as an important first step in correcting the public’s misconception of the relationship between the industry and HCPs. According to a recent British Medical Journal article, he may be onto something. The article reported the results of a recent survey, which found 90% of the nearly 1,055 respondents felt that payments to HCPs should be made public.

As the ABPI moves on with determining the details of its transparency program, a Scottish doctor is hoping a Sunshine Act style law will “catch fire” in his country. The physician has petitioned the government to create a Sunshine Act of Scotland, which would publicly disclose payments to NHS healthcare professionals.

A compliance uprising has been started in Maine as PhRMA and several Maine pharmacy associations are suing the state over its drug importation law. The law allows Maine’s citizens to obtain prescription drugs pharmacies in Canada and from licensed retail pharmacies in the U.K., Australia and New Zealand. PhRMA, and the other plaintiffs, say the law violates the U.S. Constitution and federal laws that control the sale of drugs.

If you’re looking for more information on Open Payments and data submission, CMS has announced a series of webinars, designed to introduce features of the Open Payments system, on November 19. While the webinars are targeted to manufacturers and individuals responsible for creating data submission files for manufacturers, anyone is welcome to attend. A follow up question and answer session will be held December 3.

Speaking of “hunger games,” the language regarding meals at CME events continues to cause confusion. So much so that New Jersey Congressman Robert Andrews sent a letter to CMS requesting that the cost of food provided to speakers, faculty AND attendees of CME events be exempt from individual reporting requirements.

The rule already exempts the speakers and faculty as long as three requirements are met: the program is accredited by one of five designated organizations; payments or transfers of value are not made by the manufacturer directly to speakers or attendees; and the selection of faculty and speakers is not influenced by the manufacturer.

In his letter, Congressman Andrews points out that CMS has already acknowledged that accreditation bodies and industry standards create safeguards against sponsor involvement in educational content. He says the same logic should be applied to the meals provided to attendees.

Well, that’s the news for this week. We leave you this week with a recommendation for a different type of trilogy – one that weaves a compelling and engaging tale of compliance best practices and risk reduction across a broad array of topics. PharmaCertify’s Compliance Overview, Good Promotional Practices and On-label Promotion eLearning modules offer the regulatory and practical content your sales representatives and office staff need to understand the compliance rules and promotional policies that affect their daily activities. They’ve been met with rave reviews by learners of all ages!

Have a great week and, “may the odds be ever in your favor.”

Week in Review, November 4, 2013

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Week in Review, November 4, 2013
The FDA explores the Bad Ad program, targeting misleading drug ads for younger audiences; whistleblower cases shed light on Cephalon kickbacks and the government steps up corruption investigations.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! When we’re nestled all snug in our beds with visions of sugarplums (or dew drops) dancing in our heads. Finally, Daylight Savings Time came to end over the weekend! Oh, the joy of receiving that precious hour back. We hope you made the most of that “free” hour over the weekend. We sure did! The back of eyelids never looked so good. It’s back to the grind now, so let’s get rolling with this week’s News Week in Review.

The FDA has decided it’s about time to study how teens perceive direct drug advertising. The study will gauge how teens respond to ads for fictitious acne and ADHD drugs. Studies have shown that the part of the brain that helps in discerning risk in decision making is not fully developed until the mid-twenties. The FDA wants to understand how teenagers judge the risk and benefits associated with the drugs in the ads to determine if changes should be made in the way certain drugs are advertised online.

The FDA has sprung forward with a new CME program as a part of the Bad Ad program. The agency will launch a web-based CME program to teach HCPs how to identify misleading drug ads. The course will focus on various types of advertising, and is open to anyone, even though it’s directed to HCPs.

The government will fall back from a pair of whistleblower cases against Cephalon. The first whistleblower case focuses on the off-label promotion of four drugs Cephalon co-promoted with Takeda. This is the second case brought by this group of whistleblowers against the company. The first case resulted in a settlement. In the second, the relator alleges Cephalon promoted three drugs for off-label purposes and paid kickbacks to doctors. The relator also alleges Cephalon and WebMD conspired to locate certain patient populations and promote drugs for off-label use to those patients.

A study by Taxpayers Against Fraud found that for every dollar the federal government spends on investigating and prosecuting healthcare fraud, it recovers $16. The study showed that between 2008 and 2012 civil, criminal and state recoveries were just over $18 billion. The study also showed that since 1987, recoveries totaled nearly $40 billion. China, the U.K. and U.S. are not dilly-dallying when it comes to corruption investigations. Speakers at a conference in Beijing said the countries are stepping up corruption investigations in the food and drug industry. This year, the U.S. government initiated 11 FCPA investigations of drug and medical device companies. According to a former DOJ official speaking at the conference, the agency believes there is considerable corruption occurring in drug firms overseas, and addressing it is a priority with the DOJ. John Tan, counsel with international law firm Reed Smith, said the Serious Fraud Office has six Bribery Act investigations under consideration.

Don’t overlook the importance of having administrative assistants spend time on anti-corruption training. Addressing the question of who should be included in FCPA training, the FCPA Professor points out that while administrative assistants may not interact with “foreign officials” directly, they can be a valuable asset in identifying FCPA risks if they receive training. The article references a recent article in the WSJ about the influence and power admins hold, and points out this should not be overlooked when determining your FCPA training audience.

Well, the clock has run out on another issue of the Week in Review. If all of this news surrounding product promotion has you wondering if your field force is up-to-date on the latest compliance practices, Good Promotional Practices from the PharmaCertify™ suite of customizable off-the-shelf eLearning modules, covers topics ranging from gifts and meals to speaker programs and the handling of off-label inquiries.

Have a great week everyone!