[india-drug] Lies in Pharmaceutical Promotion - Action taken

[Dr Krisantha Weerasuriya <weerasuriyak@whosea.org>]

Lies in Pharmaceutical Promotion - Action taken
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(copied from Express Pharma Pulse as fair use)

WHO issues warning notice to Yash Pharma

Jayashree Padmini - New Delhi || Added 16:34:59 hrs on March 16th, 2004
 

The World Health Organization (WHO) is understood to have issued a
warning to the Mumbai-based Yash Pharma Laboratories for allegedly
displaying WHO logo on their website saying that the company is
recipient of WHO quality certificate.

In the written communication, the legal counsel of WHO has pointed out
that the WHO name is protected and pursuant to resolution WHA1.33 of
the first World Health Assembly, the name of WHO may not be used nor
may its emblem be reproduced without prior written authorization of the
director-general. 

The communication also says that the reference to WHO on the company
website is misleading as WHO does not issue any quality certificates
for
pharmaceutical products. The organization has not evaluated the
manufacturing facilities/products of the company and has never
determined whether such facilities and products meet WHO recommended
standards, it said.

The WHO has asked the company to immediately cease making unauthorized
and misleading use of the WHO name to promote the sale of its products
and revise the website to that effect. It has sought a written
communication in this regard from the president of Yash Pharma within
three weeks from March 8, 2004.

The WHO has also pointed out that such requests for featuring WHO
name/logo,if at all anyone approaches the organization, will not be and
have not so far entertained if commercial interestes are involved. Yash
Pharma is said to have neither approached the WHO nor received any
approval. Such misuse of WHO name for commercial purposes is not new
and said to have observed in the past as well.


Available on
http://www.expresspharmapulse.com/story.php?&idno=478



COMMENTS FROM DR. KRISANTHA WEERASURIYA
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If you see it, report it ....

How frequent is the use of WHO name/logo in advertising of
pharmaceutical companies? How often have readers of india-drug seen the
WHO name and logo in pharmaceutical advertising. If you see any other
examples please bring it to the notice of WHO. Yash Pharma removed the
logo overnight. You would at least see a small part of improper
pharmaceutical promotion being brought to book.

A logical question is, if you cannot trust the advertising, can you
trust that the product that is being advertised has been manufactured
properly? Previously Strides Arcolab Limited used the WHO name and were
warned. 

Another common misconception .....

Also note that the WHO Good Manufacturing Certificate (GMP) is not
issued by WHO (see comments in the article). The format of the
certificate has been specified by the WHO; however it is the National
(or in some countries the State - as in India) Drug Regulatory
Authority that issues GMP certificate. Hence the WHO is not involved in
inspecting the facility or in issuing the certificate.

 
Dr Krisantha Weerasuriya
Essential Drugs and Medicines Policy (EDM)
WHO South-East Asia Regional Office (SEARO),
World Health House, New Delhi, 110 002, India
Phone +91 11 2337 0804  ext 26314
Mobile +91 98104 16366
Fax +91 11 2337 8510
Email: weerasuriyak@whosea.org






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