Allergan Limited and Cephalon (UK) Limited named in advertisements for breaches of the ABPI Code of Practice

​Allergan Limited and Cephalon (UK) Limited have each breached the ABPI Code of Practice for the Pharmaceutical Industry. To highlight these breaches, both are the subject of advertisements in the medical, pharmaceutical and nursing press.  

Press Release 23 March 2011


Allergan – Case AUTH/2335/7/10
For failing to comply with an undertaking not to use data in a manner which had previously been ruled in breach of the Code, Allergan was ruled in breach of the following clauses of the Code:
Clause 2 - Bringing discredit upon and reducing confidence in the pharmaceutical industry.
Clause 9.1 - Failing to maintain high standards.
Clause 25 - Failing to comply with an undertaking.

Allergan – Case AUTH/2346/8/10
For failing to comply with an undertaking not to use data in a manner which had previously been ruled in breach of the Code, Allergan was ruled in breach of the following clauses of the Code:
Clause 2 - Bringing discredit upon and reducing confidence in the pharmaceutical industry.
Clause 9.1 - Failing to maintain high standards.
Clause 25 - Failing to comply with an undertaking.

Cephalon – Case AUTH/2361/10/10
For providing inappropriate hospitality to delegates it had sponsored to attend a European conference, Cephalon was ruled in breach of the following clauses of the Code:
Clause 2 - Bringing discredit upon the pharmaceutical industry.
Clause 1.7 - Failing to comply with all applicable codes.
Clause 9.1 - Failing to maintain high standards.
Clause 15.2 - Representatives failing to maintain a high standard of ethical conduct.
Clause 15.9 - Distributing briefing material which advocated a course of action likely to breach the Code.
Clause 19.1 - Providing excessive hospitality.

Under provisions in its Constitution and Procedure, the Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority (PMCPA) advertises brief details of all cases where companies are ruled in breach of Clause 2 of the Code, are required to issue a corrective statement or are the subject of a public reprimand.

The advertisements will appear in The Nursing Standard on 24 March 2011 and the BMJ and The Pharmaceutical Journal on 26 March 2011.

The full case reports were published in the PMCPA February Code of Practice Review and are also available at www.pmcpa.org.uk.