Kate Hagan
November 2, 2010
DRUG company Roche has been fined $200,000 for offering to fund a nurse's position at a health service - depending on how many patients were treated with its hepatitis C drug Pegasys.
The fine is the maximum under the Medicines Australia code of conduct, which sets standards for marketing and promotion of prescription drugs.
It is one of two $200,000 fines incurred by Roche Products over two separate matters revealed in Medicine Australia's quarterly report for July to September, released yesterday.
A committee found the nurse funding proposal to be a severe breach of the code, and in addition to the fine ordered Roche not to make similar offers in future.
A committee investigating the complaint, made by a health professional, said a letter sent by Roche to the health service ''clearly made an offer of funding that was contingent on the number of patients treated by Pegasys, with a sliding scale of increased funding for more patients treated''.
But Roche argued that ''when [its] employees realised that the proposal could be construed in a way that was contrary to the code, it was withdrawn'', so there was no breach.
The committee disagreed, finding the fact the offer was made was sufficient to breach the code, particularly its requirement that no inducements should be offered that could interfere with a health care professional's independence.
It also noted that the health professional who made the complaint believed the deal had, in fact, been implemented, and said other staff at the health service had the same impression.
Roche was also fined $200,000 in a separate matter, for making misleading claims about its renal anaemia treatment Mircera.
The drug company failed in an appeal against the finding and the fine, which it argued was disproportionate to the seriousness of the breach.
Roche was also ordered to stop using all materials found to breach the code, and to send a correction letter to all health professionals with passwords to its website.
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