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Pharma Companies Urged To Stop In-Person Speaker Programs In HHS OIG ‘Special Fraud Alert’

 
• By Brenda Sandburg

Companies should consider alternatives to in-person physician presentations given the risk of kickback violations, OIG says. Concerns addressed in Novartis corporate integrity agreement are broader than that case, Chief Counsel to the Inspector General Greg Demske explains in an interview.

Female healthcare provider addresses colleagues at medical conference
OIG suggests biopharma companies drop in-person speaker programs for healthcare professionals • Source: Getty Images (SDI Productions/Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The US government is encouraging biopharma companies to do away with in-person speaker programs, citing the risk that payments made to speakers for informing healthcare professionals about their products could be considered a kickback.

On 16 November, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General issued a

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Mayne’s Nextstellis Promo Wrong To Suggest Better Safety Than Other Contraceptives, FDA Says

 
• By Sue Sutter

A professional slide deck for the drospirenone/estetrol oral contraceptive inappropriately suggests it is safer than other estrogen-containing products and understates risks, Office of Prescription Drug Promotion said in the first “untitled” letter issued since reductions-in-force.

Are Bigger Ad Policy Changes Coming After US FDA’s Drug Promotion Office Hit Hard By Layoffs?

 
• By Sue Sutter

The loss of policy analyst, legal, project manager and social scientist positions has experts wondering if the Trump Administration is eyeing a broader effort to limit DTC advertising. The OPDP layoffs are expected to result in delayed reviews of promotional pieces.

US FDA Cites Taiho’s Lytgobi Healthcare Provider Website For Misleading Efficacy Claims

 
• By Sue Sutter

Results from a single-arm study cannot support representations on overall survival, progression-free survival and disease control rate for the cancer drug, the Office of Prescription Drug Promotion said in another “untitled” letter implicating the agency’s CFL guidance.

How To Leverage US FDA’s ‘Consistent With Labeling’ Guidance In DTC Ads

 
• By Sue Sutter

Sponsors should review longstanding agency concepts on consumer-friendly language and claims limitations, along with Office of Prescription Drug Promotion research and enforcement, when applying the 2018 CFL guidance to direct-to-consumer advertising, Sidley Austin’s Cope says.

More from Compliance

US FDA’s Expanded Surprise Foreign Inspections: Impact And Enforcement Hoops

 
• By Anju Ghangurde

As the US FDA expands unannounced foreign inspections building on pilots in India and China, experts expect higher scrutiny of overseas sites and perhaps even an industry shakeout in the longer term, though staffing and enforcement challenges could slow things down.

Pharma Industry Argues Tax, Other Incentives Better Than Tariffs

 
• By Jessica Merrill

Pharmaceutical industry organizations offered alternatives to tariffs that could maintain a secure domestic supply chain in public comments filed in response to a federal 232 investigation.

US FDA Expands Surprise Foreign Inspections But Loses Associate Commissioner Michael Rogers

 
• By Sue Sutter

Commissioner Martin Makary’s repeated characterization of foreign facilities as being subject to lower standards than domestic counterparts may have contributed to Rogers’ decision to retire as head of the recently formed Office of Inspections and Investigations.