Pharmaceutical Advertising
March 2010
The recent Novo Nordisk reference will hopefully result in clarification as whether quotations taken from medical or scientific journals should fall within the scope of the Directive.
In the Novo Nordisk v Ramiviamet case (C249/09), the scope of Article 87(2) of Directive 2001/83 came before the Estonian courts. Article 87(2) provides that "all parts of the advertising of a medicinal product must comply with the particulars listed in the summary of product characteristics".
The court has asked the ECJ whether that article should be interpreted as extending also to quotations taken from medical journals or other scientific works which are included in advertisements directed at health professionals and whether as a consequence there should be a prohibition on the publication in advertisements of claims which conflict with the summary of product characteristics.
Comment: The Novo Nordisk reference will hopefully clarify whether the Directive could extend to authors of medical and scientific journals and whether advertisements which do not have a direct reference to the summary of product characteristics should be prohibited under the Directive.
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