Solvay Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Becomes Signatory to PhRMA’s Consumer Advertising ‘Guiding Principles’
Marietta, Ga. — August 3, 2005 — Responding to the concerns of consumers, patients and health care professionals, Solvay Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has become a signatory to the pharmaceutical industry’s “Guiding Principles” on direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising.
“Solvay Pharmaceuticals believes there is a significant public health benefit to be gained from direct-to-consumer advertising by driving patients into their healthcare provider’s office for information, rather than remaining silent on their health issues,” said Harold H. Shlevin, Ph.D., President and CEO of Solvay Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and member of The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) Board of Directors. “We are pleased to support the ‘guiding principles’ announced yesterday by PhRMA and while the company does not currently conduct DTC advertising, we look forward to incorporating the principles into any future advertising outreach.”
The principles, given final approval by the PhRMA Board of Directors July 29, include the following key elements:
To help achieve better consumer education, DTC ads designed to market a drug should also responsibly educate patients about the medicine and, when appropriate, the condition for which it may be prescribed.
To foster better communications between patients and their doctors, companies should thoroughly educate the health care professionals first about a medicine and its characteristics before launching an ad campaign.
New DTC television ads should be submitted to the Food and Drug Administration for review before they are aired.
The advertisements should promote health and disease awareness and, when possible, include information about assistance for the uninsured and underinsured.
Risks and safety information in the television ads should feature clear, understandable language and be presented in a way that supports responsible discussions between patients and health care professionals.
PhRMA will establish an “Office of Accountability,” which will receive comments from consumers, patients and health professionals about the direct-to-consumer ads sponsored by companies that adopt these principles. The accountability office will issue periodic reports on the nature of the comments received and the signatory companies’ responses. A copy of each report will be submitted to the Food and Drug Administration.
One year after the principles go into effect, the accountability office will select an independent panel to review the reports issued that year. The panel will track the overall trends that relate to the principles and make recommendations in accordance with the principles. The panel’s report will be made public.
About Solvay Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Solvay Pharmaceuticals, Inc. of Marietta, Ga. (USA) is a research-driven pharmaceutical company that seeks to fulfill unmet medical needs in the therapeutic areas of cardiology, gastroenterology, mental health, women's health and a select group of specialized markets including men's health. It is a part of the global Solvay Pharmaceuticals organization whose core activities consist of discovering, developing and manufacturing medicines for human use. Solvay Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a subsidiary corporation of the worldwide Solvay Group of chemical and pharmaceutical companies headquartered in Brussels, Belgium.
