ABPI Compliance or Risky Business?Three Common Grey Areas Explored

Some areas of the Code aren’t as black and white as they seem. We can’t

judge a book by It’s cover.

Here are three scenarios we sometimes get asked, “Is this okay?” let’s break them down.

“Are you sure I can mention my product to the Public?”

• The Scenario: A Pharma company runs a disease awareness campaign aimed

at members of the public. The materials provide factual information about a condition, include treatment options, and feature the company’s corporate branding.

✔ Compliant or Not?

✔ Compliant (with caveats). Disease awareness materials are technically allowed to name a product if they remain factual, non promotional, and balanced.

Be cautious: Focus on the disease and not the treatment. Overemphasising a particular treatment could be seen as promotion.

Key Takeaway: Keep materials about the condition and not treatment focused. Ensure they don’t favour one treatment over another.

“Surely I can share a KOL’s thoughts with my network?”

The Scenario: A Key Opinion Leader (KOL) posts about a medicine, sharing their positive experience using it with patients. A pharmaceutical company shares the post on their LinkedIn to highlight expert perspectives.

✔ Compliant or Not?

Not compliant. Even though the thoughts are from an independent HCP, resharing the content as a Pharma company will be seen as promotion especially if the post discusses a specific medicine.

Key Takeaway: Have a clear internal policy on social media interactions. Only share content that is non promotional ideally pre approved.

“Can I really buy a doctor dinner?”

The Scenario: A pharmaceutical company invites a small group of HCPs for an educational meeting at a mid range restaurant. The company covers the cost of a modest meal and non alcoholic drinks.

✔ Compliant or Not?

✔ Compliant. The ABPI Code allows hospitality, provided it is:

• Appropriate and modest - No excessive costs or extravagant venues.

• Secondary to education - The primary focus must be scientific exchange.

Key Takeaway: Keep hospitality reasonable, proportionate, and justifiable.

Ensure education is the primary reason for attending.

Even seemingly simple decisions covering a meal, running a campaign, or engaging with social media can have major implications.

The ABPI Code is all about context, and staying on the right side of the rules requires

careful thought, clear guidelines.