Under proposed rules released this week, the European Commission (EC)
will set strict limits on information drugmakers are allowed to provide
directly to patients about prescription medicines. The current ban on
direct-to-consumer advertising would remain in place under the proposal
and additional restrictions would be enacted. The proposed rules would
amend a 2008 EC proposal that was criticized as too permissive. The new
rules would allow prescription drug information only in specific places
such as on drug packaging, labels and instructions, but not in
third-party publications and elsewhere as drugmakers had hoped.
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