Pharmaceutical Field - Allergan tweet breaches industry code

Allergan tweet breaches industry code

Careless use of Twitter by an Allergan employee has led to the company being ruled in breach of the ABPI’s Code of Practice.

The employee told a friend working for a patient organisation that Allergan might “do something around stroke rehab” using the company’s Botox product.

The tweet, which was not authorised by Allergan, was read by the followers of the sender and the recipient, including members of the patient organisation.

Because Botox has prescription-only applications in stroke treatment, the tweet was judged to be public advertising of a prescription-only drug.

The employee’s mistake may have been a purely technical one – sending the message as ‘public’ rather than ‘private’ – rather than any misunderstanding of the Code of Practice.

However, the Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority (PMCPA) ruled that Allergan had breached clauses 9.1 and 22.1 of the Code.

It commented that the company had been “badly let down by its employee” and further noted: “In the Panel’s view, pharmaceutical company employees needed to be extremely cautious when using social media.”

According to the company’s policy, Allergan’s employees are not allowed to comment on its products or business activity in social media forums.

Allergan has since updated its social media policy and sent its UK employees a copy of the PMCPA’s digital guidance. The company intends to provide its employees with further training on the Code.