Reporting Off-Label Promotion of Pharmaceuticals

There are many different medications that are prescribed to patients in California. There are also new medications being created and tested every day. It is important that these new medications be safe for the people taking them. Every new medication must go through rigorous testing and must ultimately be certified by the Food and Drug Administration prior to being marketed and sold to doctors and hospitals.

The FDA will only allow the pharmaceutical companies to market and promote the medications that have been approved. While doctors will often later prescribe the medication for other uses, the pharmaceutical company cannot promote the medication for any other use other than what has been approved.

When companies do this, it is called off-label promotion. This can lead to increased sales and profits for the pharmaceutical company, but it can also be very dangerous. The doctors rely on the information being provided to them. If they later use a medication for a use that has not been approved, it can lead to major complications and problems for the patients taking it.

The FDA must rely on people within the company to report off-label promotion when employees know it is occurring. Whistleblower retaliation is illegal so that employees will not be afraid to report off-label promotion.

There are many pharmaceutical companies promoting medications to doctors in California. It is important that the companies only promote the drug for the approved purposes. It is also important for employees to report off-label promotion when it is occurring. If these employees are later retaliated against for doing so, they may be entitled to compensation from their employer. It is important that these employees receive fair compensation and consulting with an experienced attorney may be beneficial.