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GSK breached marketing code

BMJ 2006; 333 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.333.7564.368-a (Published 17 August 2006) Cite this as: BMJ 2006;333:368
  1. Owen Dyer
  1. London

    Pharmaceutical giant Glaxo-SmithKline (GSK) has been ruled in breach of industry marketing rules after the company was found to have used a patients' support website to promote an unlicensed drug for the controversial condition known as restless legs syndrome (also known as Ekbom's syndrome).

    In advertisements placed in doctors' magazines between September 2004 and November 2005, the company sought to raise awareness of the condition. The advertisements directed people with the syndrome to a support group website, the Ekbom Support Group. That website described GlaxoSmithKline's drug ropinirole as an effective treatment for the condition.

    Ropinirole, originally used to treat Parkinson's disease, is now being marketed as a treatment for restless legs syndrome …

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