PharmaTimes reports that tweets posted by Bayer Healthcare have been found to be in breach of the UK pharmaceutical industry Code of Conduct, including Clause 2, which relates to promotional activities that bring discredit upon, or reduce confidence in, the industry. The Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority (PMCPA), which administers the Code, ruled that the tweets also constituted the promotion of prescription-only medicines to the public. This is thought to be the first ever case of breaches of the Code involving social media.

The PMCPA was alerted to the tweets, which related to Bayer’s erectile dysfunction drug vardenafil (Levitra®) and multiple sclerosis drug Sativex® by a healthcare journalist. The Code Panel noted that the tweets were taken from the headlines of certified press releases and were posted on the same days as the relevant news releases. The tweets themselves were not certified and the twitter account was accessible by members of the public. The Panel therefore concluded that each tweet was a public announcement about the launch of a prescription-only medicine, which promoted that medicine to the public and would encourage members of the public to ask their health professionals to prescribe it. The Panel also expressed concerns about the uncertified nature of the tweets.

According to PharmaTimes, the Panel decided that Bayer's activities had also breached Clause 9.1 (suitability and taste), Clause 22.1 (advertising prescription-only medicines to the public) and Clause 22.2 (which requires information for the public to be factual and presented in a balanced way).

Further information is available at the link below.