Healthy Skepticism Library item: 8766

Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.

Publication type: news

UK orders Pfizer to withdraw antibiotic advert
Reuters 2007 Mar 7
http://investing.reuters.co.uk/news/articleinvesting.aspx?type=allBreakingNews&storyID=2007-03-07T115207Z_01_L0799253_RTRIDST_0_PFIZER-BRITAIN.XML

Full text:

Britain’s medicines agency has ordered Pfizer Inc to withdraw a potentially misleading advertisement in the medical press for its Zyvox antibiotic .

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said on Wednesday the world’s leading drugmaker had agreed to suspend all advertising containing claims that Zyvox had superior cure rates compared with vancomycin.

Zyvox, or linezolid, is an antibiotic used to treat certain types of serious infection.

The MHRA said the move followed discussions with the company about emerging concerns relating to the efficacy and safety of Zyvox compared with vancomycin in a clinical trial in patients with catheter-related infections.

Pfizer wrote to healthcare professionals this week to inform them about new safety restrictions on the use of Zyvox, the agency added.

“The MHRA will not tolerate medicines advertising that creates unrealistic expectations or is misleading,” Dr June Raine, Director of Vigilance and Risk Management of Medicines at the MHRA, said in a statement.