Jane says "The promoting of unapproved or off label material even to the sales reps is strictly forbidden. All training materials for training or distibution are to be regulatory approved. Arthur has sent out a directive for us to delete this information because it was unapproved even though he and the medical liaisons freely distributed it to us."
From: Rodriguez, Arthur (Agouron)
Sent: Thursday, January 04, 2007 2:46 PM
To: Binion, Russell A; Jones, Jackie E; Kerns, Jacqueline M; Krall, Jody; Lee, Jim; Mlambo, Debra; Pulliam, Wayne Anthony; Rascoe, Sharon Y; Smiley, Tracy; Traylor, Rhoyge W; Fitzgerald, Kelly; McCarty, Gene; Mumford, Robert E; Vollmers, Thomas L; Yost, John (La Jolla); Zaleski, Carolyn; Brake, Jeffrey; Ceperley, Mark A; Ebenroth, Joseph; Ferguson, Bettye J; Hopkins, Melanie E; Jaconetta, James; Miller, Adam M; Rossbach, Mareen; Seaver, David S; Snyder, Elizabeth L; Adcock, Bryan; Bestler, Michael; Cragar, John B; DeRamus, Lisa A; Evans, Jay; Fazzina, Douglas; Frank, Denise; Glazer, Bruce J; Grice, Karen; Jackson, Kyle A; Larralde, Mark; Lovelady, Johnny F; McCauley, Nancy; Pieper, Shasta; Raymond, James; Root, Tamara; Shimp, Christine Lynn; Snody, Bonnie J; Soler, Jennifer D; Staver, Kent; Stephenson, Kimberly A; Stinson, Kelly N; Tabraue, Alex; Taylor, Joan; Turner, Edward; Weiss, Lawrence; Williams, Brennetta C; Woll, Joyce M
Subject: Confidential: MARAVIROC Update - CCR5/Disease State Education
Program Launches
Team,
In an effort to keep the field informed of ongoing activities regarding MVC, please be aware of the following campaign which will initiate this month. This is for your information only. Please do not proactively discuss this with your physicians and customers. All educational materials and information will be the sole responsibility of the U.S. marketing team. Our response, if brought up by one of our customers, must be limited to acknowledgement of the program only.
Please Do NOT forward or retain this e-mail. FYI only. Do NOT Detail or discuss with Customers.
Thanks,
Art Rodriguez
National Director
Pfizer HIV/AIDS Division
National Sales Office
18500 Von Karman, Suite 600
Irvine, CA 92612
Office: (949) 794-1505
FAX: (949) 794-1509
Voice mail: 81945
Cell: (760) 473-1807
Clearly, Mr. Art "Delete! Delete!" Rodriguez doesn't realize that about the most stupid thing any corporate manager can do is to send an e-mail to over fifty co-workers and expect that if he writes "Please Do NOT forward or retain this e-mail" they will actually delete that e-mail and not forward it to all their friends, laughing.
He also doesn't seem to understand that to write such a memo is pretty close to corporate suicide, since only a person who THINKS he has something to hide goes on the record ordering document destruction of the e-mail he just wrote . . .
The revelation of this memo comes on the heels of another Pfizer HIV/AIDS division memo from Pfizer Vice President Mark Brown, in which he wrote "First, because Maraviroc has not been approved by the FDA, you must not engage in any form of pre-approval promotion . . . you must advise the questioner that you are not able to respond to the question in light of the pending regulatory application . . . The consequences of pre-approval promotion can be significant, and can go beyond disciplinary action for violation of a Company Policy . . . Any promotional conduct at this point in time could adversely influence the FDA’s views on either the label or the Risk Plan, could prompt the FDA to send Pfizer a Regulatory letter or could lead to other legal action."
The only problem with THAT memo was that Mark "I told 'em not to do it!" Brown, sent his memo several days AFTER this blog had revealed allegations of illegal premarketing by Pfizer's HIV/AIDS sales force; allegations that were confirmed yesterday in numerous internal Pfizer e-mails republished in my article "Pfizer sales rep: 'PFE tried to find 'naïve doctors' for illegal premarketing of maraviroc!'"
For the entire maraviroc story, click here.
3 comments:
If they are willing to do thos with an unapproved drug what in God's name are they doing with their approved product?
I guess FDA approval is now considered optional.
Although people think hat those at big pharma,Pfizer and others involved in deliberate misconduct to enhance everything beyond what would be done if "honest" methods were used only, are very smart and beyond making mistake, it is not true as this case also proves.
Issuing an e-mail with a warning not to keep it? What was he thinking? The responsibility of those who do the dirty work is that NO EVIDENCE MUST BE CREATED, let alone in writing.
By now, if not earlier, lot of big pharma employees are aware of Dr. Rost and others who stood up to fight the ugly side of this industry and how they do it. Anyone would file such an evidence if for no reason but to have it "just in case". It has always been done anyway by the smart ones. The thing was they did not know how to use it at least not the proper way. Today you know. Get in toch with the righ people and WB. You may even benefit on top of doing the right thing.
Perhaps if the big pharma started to worry that any employee could potentially become a WB-er, they just might turn around and join the honest side of the business whatever is left of it.
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