The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 270 No 7231 p42
11 January 2003

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Call for Schering to repay NHS money over Yasmin claims

The Consumers' Association has called on Schering Health Care to repay £200,000 to the National Health Service following misleading claims about its oral contraceptive product Yasmin (ethinylestradiol with drospirenone).

Schering was forced to withdraw advertisements for Yasmin at the end of last year after the Medicines Control Agency ruled that they were unacceptable (PJ, 14 December 2002, p837). However, the Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin said at that time that the MCA had been incompetent because the Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority had ruled against the advertisements in September 2002 after complaints published in an article in the DTB in August.

Now the Consumers' Association, publisher of the DTB, wants Schering to repay £200,000 to the NHS which it says is the difference in cost between prescriptions written for Yasmin and for the next most expensive alternative.

Professor Joe Collier, editor of the DTB, said: "There must be some recompense for the NHS when doctors prescribe expensive drugs in good faith as a result of misleading promotional claims. Schering should voluntarily repay the excess expenditure without recourse to the law courts."

A spokeswoman for Schering said that the company continues to support Yasmin and would not consider making any repayment. "Prescribing decisions are made by doctors and patients together," she said. Yasmin had been one of the most studied oral contraceptives before its launch and a large amount of evidence had been gathered and presented to the licensing authorities. Revised advertising is planned.