If you think the FDA is dragging its feet on all matters social media, consider what’s happening across the pond.
The European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) has declared that it is satisfied (at least so far) with the work of the European Commission on the issue of information-to-patients (ItP). It did, however, suggest that future discussions should examine ways to ensure that high-quality information is accessible to patients in their own language.
What is really lacking in the proposals is any guidance on how companies can address social media - such as Facebook and Twitter - Efpia Director General Richard Bergstrom says.
But Bergstrom is not looking for another directive on this issue, as it may take "years to formulate." He says he hopes that within the framework of the current proposals, some members of the European Parliament will look to address the social media aspect.
"The reason why this has not come up before is that in the first review people were obsessed with the fundamental aspects of whether industry should be permitted to provide information in the first place," he says.
In the meantime, the Commission's proposals regarding information to patients must now be debated once more by both the European Parliament and the Council of ministers, although no timetable for these activities is as yet available.
The EU Treacle Torture
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