MEPs reject US-style direct advertising of drugs

Members of the European parliament have categorically rejected tentative plans to allow pharmaceutical companies to provide information on drugs directly to the public in the European Union.

As part of its proposals to update existing EU legislation on the approval and marketing of drugs, the European Commission had suggested a five year pilot scheme during which firms could supply data directly to patients on three common illnesses: diabetes, asthma, and AIDS.

Erkki Liikanen, the European commissioner behind the proposal, …