Code of Conduct - Question & Answers

12. Market Research - June 2006

Question 1:
Consider the following guiding Principle:

• Company Sales Representatives may not participate in market research, clinical studies, advisory boards or consultant arrangements.
• Company sales representatives are the main point of contact between the pharmaceutical industry and other partners in Canada's Health Care sector. Their role: education of health care professionals by providing them with full and factual information on prescription medicines. Medical experts are responsible for conducting clinical studies and related activities.

Here is the question:
When we test a sales aid, we traditionally ask a sales representative to present the sales aid to the doctor in an interview room. The rationale for this is to reproduce the reality of a regular presentation in a physician's office. The representative's role is strictly to present the sales aid. Once this is done, the representative leaves the interview room and awaits the arrival of the next physician upon which time the representative does the presentation again. These tests are done with 12 physicians in two major cities in Canada for a total of 24 physicians.

Our opinion is that representatives, in accordance with the guiding principles, are not doing Market Research as they are not involved in any part of the study design, data interpretation or presented with the results (except perhaps as one slide during a national sales meeting or regional meeting).

Response:
In conversation with the questioner, the Member company stated that the testing of the sales aid would be organized by a third party market research firm at the firm's offices. The Member company stated that the purpose of having their sales representatives make a mock presentation to the health care professionals (HCP) would be to mimic as closely as possible an actual sales presentation. However, beyond the role of making the mock presentation, it is the Member company's intention to prohibit the representative's role in any other part of this process.

Section 12.2.3 of the Code says, “Market research must not deliberately sway the opinion(s) of the participant(s).” Furthermore, Section 8.2.5 states “Member representatives must provide full and factual information on products, without misrepresentation or exaggeration. Representatives' statements must be accurate and complete; they should not be misleading, either directly or by implication. Their assertions must be scientific and should not vary in any way from the official product monograph and current Canadian medical thinking.” It is understandable that within the context of a market research exercise organized by an independent and professional market survey company and only in that particular context, could the sales representative not use the information on products that would in all other circumstances meet the requirements of Section 8.2.5.

It should be emphasized that the Member company must weigh such activity against the risk of the public or other HCPs misunderstanding what the Member company is trying to accomplish. The Guiding Principles state that “All product information provided to health care professionals must be accurate and fair balanced.” In its attempt to simulate sales conditions, the company should consider whether the public or non-participating HCPs will differentiate between the role-playing of a sales representative and an attempt to unduly influence HCPs?

At a minimum, it is strongly recommended that the Member company ensures that the sales representative, in testing the sales aid, does not make the presentation to HCPs that fall within her or his sales area nor make any reference to the sales representatives that provide service to the HCP. This would be consistent with Section 12.2.5 which states, “The identity of the participant(s) must not be revealed for purposes of promoting Member products to them in the future.”

Finally, it is important to note that at the 2006 Semi-Annual General Meeting the Rx&D membership passed Code provisions (effective January 2007) that make it clear that a Member company is responsible for the activities organized by third parties on the Member's behalf. This effectively means that the activities of the third party market research firm will be considered for Code purposes as if the activities were organized by the Member company itself.