Promotion at international congresses

The organisation for pharmaceutical companies attending these events is often handled centrally via European, international or global headquarters. Before considering these categories there are several important points that must be taken into account  

Promotion, which takes place within Europe, must comply with applicable laws and regulations. 

In addition, promotion that takes place within Europe must also comply with each of the following applicable codes  

In the event of a conflict between the provisions of the applicable codes, the more restrictive of the conflicting provisions will apply. 

The promotional materials that are used by pharmaceutical company staff at their company booth for advertising products to conference delegates at international congresses must be produced and certified for use, in accordance with the legal and self-regulatory frameworks in the applicable countries. These promotional materials include printed detail aids, electronic detail aids, leave pieces and product monographs. 

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The three chapters at the start of the book deal with planning core campaigns, planning promotion at international congresses and planning advisory boards. 

Table 3.3 Key issues for gifts and promotional aids at international congresses...

Invitations to symposia at international congresses may be promotional therefore, if there is mention of a product and claim, they must meet the requirements of a promotional item. 

Products that have not been approved for registration by the Department of Health and Ageing must not be promoted. However, samples of unapproved products may be displayed and educational material made available at international congresses. This restriction also applies to unapproved indications for registered products. 

Promotional material that appears on exhibition stands or is distributed to participants at international congresses or symposia in Ireland can refer to products that are not licensed in Ireland, provided that it is licensed in at least one member state of the EU, and the following conditions are observed ... 

Promotion of products and indications that do not have a marketing authorisation in Turkey are not permitted at international congresses organised in Turkey. In such events scientific presentations or poster presentations are not considered promotion and are therefore permitted. 

Many different types of catalysts have been employed, including both metal oxides, such as PbO (5-7), which react in a redox cycle to Pb metal, and catalysts containing metals with fixed valence, such as Li promoted MgO (jg), which produce active Li 0" sites for methane dimerization. Such catalysts were discussed in four papers at the recent Ninth International Congress on Catalysis 8)- The most effective catalysts have several common traits. Low surface area has been found to be very important 2 9) in the conversion of methane. Also of importance is the basicity of the catalyst. (However, not every basic material causes C2 formation.)... 

Competitions are not allowed in some countries, because they are not considered acceptable methods of promotion. Therefore, if a competition is planned for a booth at an international congress, the first step should be to find out whether this is allowed in the relevant country or countries (see Section 7.2, p. 93). 

References to congress abstracts, poster presentations of national and international congresses as well as posters accepted to be displayed in such congresses can be used in promotion for 2 years after the congress When promotional material refers to data on file, the relevant part must be provided without delay at the request of the members of health professions... 

These problems were addressed in a paper published by MacCarthy (1976) wherein it was proposed that an international reference collection of humic substances be established. The potential benefits that would result from such a collection were outlined in the paper. That proposal was further promoted by MacCarthy and Malcolm (MacCarthy and Malcolm, 1979 Malcolm and MacCarthy, 1979), and at the Congress of the International Society of Soil Science in 1978 (MacCarthy and Malcolm, 1978) a special working group was formed to examine the possibility of establishing an international standard collection of humic substances. In 1981, an international group of scientists met in Denver, Colorado and formulated a plan for generating a suite of standard humic substances which would be available to researchers worldwide. It was decided to extract and purify humic and fulvic acids from the soil, peat, leonardite, and aquatic sources by a carefully... 

No sooner had we started our work than Marshall Nirenberg announced at the International Congress of Biochemistry in Moscow that polyuridylic acid promoted the synthesis of polyphenylalanine. Some scientists attending the Congress said that the audience was electrified. We became petrified when a member of our department told us the news upon his return from Moscow. 

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