Ethical Issues in Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Ethical Issues in Marketing - Essay Example However, after its approval for distribution in 1993, Neurontin was aggressively marketed for a large number of off-label usage that were not only unapproved by the FDA, but were also suspected of negative effects such as suicide. Thus, given the important role pharmaceutical companies play in ensuring the well-being of a nation, and the dangerous effect off-label marketing can have on patients; this essay will argue that it is unethical, not to mention illegal, to market drugs for unproven uses on the basis of public health, especially if it is linked to harmful effects such as suicidal behavior. Off-label drug usage is a common practice in the medical community. Defined as the use of medicines for "indication, dosage form, population, or other use parameter not mentioned in the approved labeling," it has been accepted, and even warranted, in some occasions, where it presents the best and sometimes even only course of possible treatment (qtd. in Kaufman 2004, 3). According to Steven Salbu, there are three forms of off-label activities - off-label use, of-label prescription, and off-label marketing (qtd. in Kaufman 2004, 5). While off-label use and prescription are readily accepted, off-label marketing for unapproved usage of drugs is another story. ... The interest of pharmaceutical companies to market off-label usage of their products lies in their need as business entities to get these medicines out in the market as soon as possible without the long and expensive wait that FDA approval requires. One company that took advantage of this leeway to the point of fraudulently marketing their products is Pfizer in its efforts of promoting Neurontin. Neurontin: An Effective Marketing Strategy Neurontin is a legally approved drug indicated as an "adjunctive therapy" for the treatment of partial seizures and epilepsy (Pfizer Inc., 2005, 7). Hence, it is not to be used alone, but only as a secondary treatment "added to other antiepileptic drugs" in the event that the primary drugs are not successful (7). However, it was still aggressively marketed for non-approved uses in treating a wide range of ailments including: bipolar mental disorders, various pain disorders, Lou Gehrig's disease, attention deficit disorders, migraine, drug and alcohol withdrawal seizures, restless leg syndrome, and as a primary treatment for epilepsy (DOJ, 2004). In a whistleblower suit filed by Dr. David Franklin, evidence emerged that the off-label uses previously mentioned were marketed in an illegal and fraudulent manner in what has been known as "the most complete and well documented case of off-label promotion to ever come into public view" (Sweet 2003, 18). According to Franklin, the company implemented a "coordinated national effort to implement an off-label marketing plan" because first, conducting further clinical trials to prove its effectiveness for off-label uses are both too time