Harmonising rules on information about prescription drugs
Pharmaceutical companies are not allowed to inform consumers on the internet or in ads about side effects, application and ingredients of medicines. The pharmaceutical industry would like to relax this ban and mustered support from EU Commissioner Günter Verheugen who will present a legislative proposal later this year.
EU Commissioner for Enterprise and Industry Günter Verheugen wants to improve patients’ access to information on prescription drugs, German daily “Die Welt” reports. Verheugen is thus spearheading the pharmaceutical industry’s campaign to abolish the current information ban and to allow the companies to publish data on prices, side effects, application and ingredients of the medicines in newspaper ads or on the internet. Today, this type of information can only be offered on the patient information leaflet.
Legislative proposal to be presented in November
The legislative proposal, “Die Welt” reports, is scheduled for presentation by early November. The new framework is not meant to weaken the advertising ban on prescription drugs, Commission representatives emphasised.
It remains to be seen, though, whether Enterprise and Industry Commissioner Verheugen will succeed with his concept for harmonised information rules on the common market. Influential MEPs and important Member States are said to oppose Verheugen’s plans, the newspaper reports. Officials of DG Health for example seem to worry that relaxing information rules will lead to an increase in drug consumption.
According to “Die Welt” in the German Federal Ministry of Health the Verheugen plans are not particularly welcome either. Health official fear that better informed patients will push their physicians to prescribe more as well as more expensive drugs. And consumer protection organisation point out that the fine line between information and advertising is easily blurred and that the pharmaceutical companies may abuse the relaxed information rules for advertising purposes.
18.09.2008
