AstraZeneca employees’ LinkedIn activity has once again landed the drug company in hot water, with Britain’s marketing watchdog identifying eight breaches of rules in the latest series of incidents.
The incident came after a medical professional alerted the PMCPA, the UK’s self-regulatory body, to a LinkedIn post published by an independent organization. The post announcing the winner of the “Best Medication” award described AstraZeneca’s cancer drug Lynparza as “groundbreaking.” The plaintiff claimed that UK-based AstraZeneca employees, including senior staff, were contacted by the post.
AstraZeneca confirmed that 18 UK-based employees were involved in the posts, including two vice presidents and two department heads. Accepting the exchange could make the post public, but AstraZeneca refuted the claimant’s claim that its actions breached the UK’s Marketing Code.
The PMCPA sided with the plaintiffs on most points, ruling that AstraZeneca had violated eight clauses of the code. But the watchdog refuted claims that the practice eroded trust in the industry, sparing drugmakers from the harshest criticism.
The PMCPA said AstraZeneca had failed to maintain high standards, in part because “there is no question as to whether the dissemination of the employee’s posts amounted to promotion of Lynparza.” The PMCPA Committee expressed concern that AstraZeneca did not recognize LinkedIn’s activity as a violation of its terms in its response to complaints.
However, PMCPA found that neither AstraZeneca’s actions nor the interactions of its 18 employees undermined or undermined confidence in the pharmaceutical industry. AstraZeneca reacted immediately upon learning of the LinkedIn activity, asking the independent organization to remove the post and identifying the staff involved in the content. The company asked staff to remove likes and review their policies.
LinkedIn has been a recurring source of breaches for AstraZeneca in recent years. Since the PMCPA ruled in December 2021 that LinkedIn’s activities had caused a loss of confidence in the industry, the UK watchdog has ruled against AstraZeneca in around 20 cases related to the social network. GSK, Novartis, Pfizer and Vertex are among the biopharmaceutical companies that breached UK rules on the use of LinkedIn during the same period.
