Australian Regulators Fine Drugmakers for Misleading Claims, Breaching Code of Conduct

Medicines Australia has fined several drugmakers for misleading advertising or breaching its code of conduct, including a $200,000 fine to Roche for making misleading claims about its anemia drug Mircera. The fine stems from a complaint lodged by Amgen, which markets competing products Epogen (epoetin alfa) and Aranesp (darbepoetin alfa). According to the complaint, Roche made a number of misleading claims in a poster presentation at a medical convention, a website promoting Mircera (methoxy polyethylene glycol-epoetin beta) to healthcare professionals and a Mircera dosing card that depicted Amgen’s drugs as inferior to Mircera.
International Pharmaceutical Regulatory Monitor