WSJ: AstraZeneca Sharpens Ethics Focus After Fine

A recent article Jeanne Whallen at the Wall Street Journal highlights a line of thinking that many pharma companies are coming around to these days: we must be vigilant about ensuring that our drugs are promoted ethically.

And while there are certainly altruistic reasons for such thinking, there is also a very black & white, bottom-line reason as well: if they are not vigilant about how their drugs are promoted, it could result in a hefty government fines.

Here is an expert from Whallen’s article on AstraZeneca’s post-fine approach to ethics:

U.S. government fines have made big drug makers “more sensitive than we’ve ever been” about preventing illegal promotion of their drugs, the chief executive of AstraZeneca PLC said in an interview.

AstraZeneca in September reached a preliminary agreement to pay $520 million to settle a U.S. investigation into its marketing of the schizophrenia drug Seroquel, including allegations that the company promoted the drug for uses for which it isn’t approved by the Food and Drug Administration. This practice, called “off-label marketing,” is illegal.

Surely many, many more pharma companies will be coming around to AstroZeneca’s newfound line of thinking, if they aren’t already.