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Visits from sales reps: still misleading

Pharmaceutical firms' sales reps' visits to health professionals have changed little: they exaggerate the drug's benefits and gloss over the risks

A large proportion of pharmaceuticals companies' promotional budgets is devoted to sales reps' visits, the aim of which is to convince doctors to prescribe a particular drug. Fourteen years ago, Prescrire set up a Sales Rep Monitoring Network to keeps tabs on sales rep visits.

In 2004, in a sign that research is stagnating, sales reps mainly presented drugs belonging to classes of medicines that are already in plentiful supply – "me-too" drugs and copies under various commercial names – and additions to existing ranges. The benefits of the drugs were exaggerated, and in 35% of cases the claimed indications did not match the approved indications. There was generally no mention of contra-indications, warnings, drug interactions or adverse effects. A reps' charter between the government and the pharmaceuticals industry was signed at the end of 2004. This charter reminds firms of their legal obligations, which have almost never been applied, in particular the obligation to give the doctor the notice issued by the French pharmacoeconomic Committee (which assesses the medical benefits of new drugs). According to the Prescrire Sales Rep Monitoring Network, this notice was only supplied in 5% of cases in 2004. As for the banning of incentive gifts, a "radical" shake-up is needed for the charter to have a significant impact.

©Prescrire March 2005

Source: "2004 : la visite médicale trompe toujours énormément" Rev Prescrire 2005 ; 25 (259) : 191.

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