Regulating the promotion of prescription drugs

Many countries are implementing regulations governing pharmaceutical advertising. These regulations prohibit the promotion of prescription-only medicines or products to the general public. These can be advertised only to healthcare providers and pharmaceutical industry professionals.

What this means for delegates and the registration process

The conferences organized by IAS – the International AIDS Society – attract a multidisciplinary and international audience, and the IAS complies with national, European and international laws regulating the marketing of prescription drugs.

To do this, the IAS asks all conference delegates to declare their professional status during the registration process in accordance with the IAS Data Privacy Policy. Delegates are then grouped into three categories: healthcare professional (HCP); non-healthcare professional (non-HCP); or industry representative.

Each category is defined as follows:

Healthcare professional

Any person who is of the medical, dental, pharmacy or nursing professions or any other person who, in the course of their professional activities, may prescribe, purchase, supply, recommend or administer a medicinal product. This includes any official or employee of a government agency or other organization (whether in the public or private sector) who may prescribe, purchase, supply or administer medicinal products, and any employee of a company whose primary focus is healthcare.

Industry representative

Any person who is part of pharmaceutical company staff (including agency staff and technical contractors supporting promotional activities online) other than healthcare professionals employed by a pharmaceutical company.

Non-healthcare professional

Any person who is not qualified as a healthcare professional or industry representative as per the above definitions (including wholesalers or distributors of medicinal products, healthcare client organization representatives and media).For in-person participants, the category you select during registration is indicated on your delegate badge. Clearly identifying healthcare providers and industry representatives enables pharmaceutical sponsors to easily determine to whom they can promote prescription medicines. The IAS does not accept any liability for the accuracy of the status printed on the delegate’s conference name badge.If you wish to modify your category, please contact us at hcpstatus@iasociety.org.

What this means for pre-conference, satellite symposia and exhibition content and information

As our audience is multidisciplinary, in accordance with mandatory national, European and international regulations, the IAS does not allow any advertising or promotion of prescription-only medicines or products in pre-conferences, satellite symposia and the exhibition or exhibition booths in any format. All pre-conference, satellite symposia and exhibition content and information available to conference participants must not promote any prescription-only medicines or products. It is the full responsibility of the exhibitors and satellite and pre-conference organizers to ensure that all content and information available to conference participants, as well as all their staff, contractors or agencies they work with, fully comply with any applicable regulations and regulatory frameworks governing prescription advertising.

More information

To learn more about the international regulatory frameworks governing prescription advertising, please click on the following links:

Advertising medicinal products in Brazil

Advertising medicinal products in Brazil is regulated by § 4 of art. 220 of the Federal Constitution and by the legal document, number 6.360, from September 1976. Both documents restrict advertising of medicinal products to healthcare professionals.

The National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA) has issued detailed guidelines about how medicinal products may be advertised. However, the Brazilian Superior Court of Justice recently ruled that ANVISA has no authority to establish rules for advertising medicines and therapies, although it continues to monitor advertising medicines and therapies in its capacity as a special agency of the Ministry of Health. Marketing medicinal products in Brazil requires official authorization from ANVISA.

INTERFARMA, the main self-regulation entity in Brazil that formalizes the relationship between the pharmaceutical industry and health professionals, provides a code of conduct aligned with the IFPMA Code of Practice.

Regulating the promotion of prescription drugs