Healthy Skepticism International News

IFPMA

July 1996

Vol 14 Issue 7/8 Follow-up: IFPMA rulings: "Unsurpassed" dishonesty. The IFPMA's decision on our complaint about Parke-Davis' promotion of Ponstan (mefenamic acid) for paediatric use in Pakistan. The claims were "unsurpassed efficacy compared to acetominophen (paracetamol) in fever control", "faster antipyretic action", "prolonged duration of action", "better tolerance" etc. Parke-Davis had earlier agreed to remove the claim of "better tolerance" but continued to endorse its other claims. The IFPMA ruling was that no breach of the Code had occurred and "The company points out that the phrase 'Unsurpassed efficacy ...' does not mean superiority, it means equivalence." Our letter in reply protests.

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...to influence multinational corporations effectively, the efforts of governments will have to be complemented by others, notably the many voluntary organisations that have shown they can effectively represent societyâ€™s public-health interestsâ€¦
A small group known as Healthy Skepticism; formerly the Medical Lobby for Appropriate Marketing) has consistently and insistently drawn the attention of producers to promotional malpractice, calling for (and often securing) correction. These organisations [Healthy Skepticism, MÃ©decins Sans FrontiÃ¨res and Health Action International] are small, but they are capable; they bear malice towards no one, and they are inscrutably honest. If industry is indeed persuaded to face up to its social responsibilities in the coming years it may well be because of these associations and others like them.
- Dukes MN. Accountability of the pharmaceutical industry. Lancet. 2002 Nov 23; 360(9346)1682-4.