Eli Lilly fined $60,000 over Cialis spin

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THE makers of an anti-impotence treatment have been fined $60,000 for a publicity initiative that the industry's self-regulating complaints body found breached the ban on promoting drugs direct to the public.

Eli Lilly, the maker of the erectile dysfunction drug Cialis, was also found by Medicines Australia's Code of Conduct Committee to have issued a product-specific media statement in April this year.

However, the company escaped censure on a third charge, that of bringing discredit to the industry and reducing public confidence in it.

Despite the fine, Eli Lilly will not have to lodge corrective advertisements in trade or other media -- as sometimes required after proven code breaches -- as members of the committee decided such an order "would provide Eli Lilly with another opportunity to discuss the product with the general public".

Cialis competes directly with Pfizer's better-known drug Viagra, which is also used for erectile dysfunction.

The complaint was lodged over a press release issued by Eli Lilly in April, which was timed to coincide with the release of a new version of the drug called Cialis Once-a-Day................

Source http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23965060-23289,00.html