Social Media and Pharma in the UK: a Review of the Pitfalls and the Latest Guidance

Social media channels are the latest and most dynamic and interactive marketing tools available to business, but in the UK most pharmaceutical companies have watched from the sidelines, reluctant to enter the fray for fear of falling foul of the complex regulatory regime under which their sector operates. Recent guidance from the UK regulator – ahead of the FDA’s longpromised guidelines – has fuelled the sector’s appetite to engage through social media channels. But while the UK guidance is to be welcomed, pharmaceutical companies should ensure they are fully aware of all the potential risks that social media channels present, and should put in place comprehensive compliance policies and training programmes to ensure that they are properly equipped for the challenges of social media.

Read the complete article published in The International Comparative Legal Guide to Pharmaceutical Advertising.

Lawyers Tim Worden

This article appeared in the 2011 edition of The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Pharmaceutical Advertising; published by Global Legal Group Ltd, London