9 June 2015: advertising of Nicardipine
Published 20 July 2015
© Crown copyright 2015
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/advertising-investigations-june-2015/9-june-2015-advertising-of-nicardipine
A healthcare professional complained about an advert published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) on 14 March 2015 for Nicardipine 10mg/10ml solution for injection, produced by Amdipharm Mercury Company Limited.
The complainant was concerned that the statement that the medication was “recommended by” the European Society of Hypertension (ESH) and the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) for the treatment of malignant hypertension was misleading. The complainant said the use of this incorrect statement was to intentionally mislead clinicians to use their product by creating the impression that they were following an evidence-based guideline prepared by respected medical societies.
MHRA did not uphold the complaint and considered that the ESH/ESC guidance did recommend use of nicardipine for the treatment of malignant hypertension and hypertensive emergencies. MHRA recommended that any claim should make it clear that treatment should be individualised in future advertising.