Back on January 29, 2007, I wrote about Takeda’s violation of PhRMA’s DTC Guiding Principle #10, which prohibits DTC “reminder ads” on TV and in print ads (see “Rozerem Reverts to Reminder TV Ads“).
Although Takeda the VERY NEXT DAY claimed that it wasn’t a reminder ad at all — see “Takeda: It Isn’t a Reminder Ad — Wha!!!” — I begged to differ. On January 31, 2007, I filed a complaint with PhRMA’s Office of Accountability and sent copies to Mark Booth, the president of Takeda Pharmaceutical North America and Matt Kuhn, the Takeda spokesperson who claimed no foul (see “Tilting Again at the PhRMA Windmill” for a copy of the letter I sent).
The last time I sent such a compliant to PhRMA — regarding violation of priciple #10 by another sleep aid brand (Lunesta) — it took them almost 2 months to send me a response from “Emily,” the PhRMA Intern! (see “PhRMA’s Response – PRwise, it Stinks!“).
This time, I received a response from PhRMA in less than 3 weeks! In it they acknowledge my “specific concern regarding principle #10.” View the letter and envelope here.
Unlike last time, the envelope does not have “Office of Accountability” handwritten in crayon over the logo on the front. It’s neatly laser-printed on the flap (a cheap alternative to wasting money printing special Office of Accountability envelopes; after all, how many of these letters do you think they send out?).
The letter is actually SIGNED by Paul Antony, MD, MPH, Director, Office of Accountability. In contrast, Emily did not sign her letter nor did she provide her title.
Finally, I am getting the respect I deserve!
