trust me I am a doctor

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One of the world's largest drug companies has been

disciplined by the industry's UK watchdog after

admitting that its staff entertained doctors to

greyhound racing, lapdancing and Centre Court tickets

at Wimbledon.

 

The Association of the British Pharmaceutical

Authority (ABPI) ruled that the scale of the

hospitality to doctors who might be influenced to

prescribe Abbott Laboratories' drugs breached its code

of practice. It suspended the company, which made

$3.4bn (£2bn) profit last year on worldwide sales of

$22.3bn, from its board of management for six months.

 

An anonymous whistleblower triggered the ABPI

investigation when he complained that drug reps had

taken 27 doctors to the greyhound track in Manchester

in January 2004 and 36 others in September. He also

complained that two Abbott employees had taken a

senior doctor to a lapdancing club, where one of them,

a senior manager, borrowed £1,000 for the evening out

from the other, a rep.

 

Abbott, which makes drugs and testing equipment for

cancer, diabetes, HIV and pain management, said the

employees involved had either left the company or been

sacked. The greyhound racing outings had not been

approved by head office, it said, because the cost had

not exceeded £40 a head or £2,000 in total.

 

But the authority said Abbott was " unable to provide a

full picture of what had occurred at these meetings " .

It added: " The panel considered it highly likely that

the meetings were mainly of a social or sporting

nature which was unacceptable under the code. " The

code of practice states that prescribing doctors can

only be entertained in the context of educational

events - such as lectures or workshops on the use of

the company's drugs - and that the scale of the

hospitality must be proportionate and the location

appropriate.

 

The lapdancing visit took place in January 2004 after

a workshop. After dinner, one of Abbott's managers and

a rep who had been manning a stand took a hospital

doctor out for the evening. The complainant " stated

that the manager borrowed £1,000 from the local

representative towards the evening, telling him he

would be fully reimbursed. However this never

materialised and he was still waiting for his money, "

the ABPI account of the investigation said.

 

Abbott argued that the two employees had entertained

the doctor in their own time and at their own expense.

But the panel said it breached the code because a

potential customer was involved.

 

The panel also ruled that Abbott had broken the rules

by inviting senior consultants from London hospitals

to Wimbledon in the summer of 2004 and providing them

with Centre Court tickets and " full hospitality " . It

was also censured for paying a bill for almost £800

for Christmas lunch for 15 hospital staff in December.

 

Abbott said its understanding of what was acceptable

in terms of corporate hospitality had changed after a

ruling against another drug company, Takeda, was

published a year ago. It said it had a " zero tolerance

policy " for breaches. The allegations related to " a

small number of employees " who had resigned or had

their employment terminated.