Perrigo Rapped Over Solpadeine Claim in UK, While Cleared Of Wrongdoing In Spanish XLS Ad
Executive Summary
Perrigo has found itself in hot water with the UK's MHRA over claims made on the website of its Solpadeine pain-relief brand. Meanwhile, the company has been exonerated after complaints against a TV ad to promote its XLS weight-loss brand proved to be unfounded.
Promotions for Perrigo Co. PLC products in the UK and Spain have separately come under scrutiny from regulators in the respective countries.
The Ireland-domiciled firm has been reprimanded for claims made on the UK website for pain-relief brand Solpadeine, while being cleared of wrongdoing in Spanish television advertising for its recently-launched XLS Medical Forte 5 weight-loss product.
In the first case, Perrigo had to remove from the Solpadeine website specific wording it was using to promote the paracetamol and codeine-based range after an investigation by the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.
Clinically Proven Claim Questioned
MHRA said it had decided to take action against Perrigo after becoming aware of the claim “Solpadeine is clinically proven to help you get back to feeling like the real you” on the brand’s website.
Such a claim was not consistent with the licensed indications of the medicines in the Solpadeine range, the regulator noted, namely the relief of pain. “We were also concerned that the claim did not promote the rational use of Solpadeine,” MHRA added, “by potentially undermining important information in the patient information leaflets intended to help patients identify whether they may be addicted to codeine-containing products.”
According to MHRA’s Blue Guide, all medicines advertising in the UK must “encourage the rational use of the product by presenting it objectively and without exaggerating its qualities.” In the case of internet promotions, the guide advises that website providers should ensure that materials posted do not contravene the UK’s Human Medicines Regulations 2012.
After removing the claim from its website, Perrigo confirmed that it would not be used again in advertising for Solpadeine products. The website now features a number of different claims for the Solpadeine range, including: “When regular pain relief isn’t enough”; “Pain…it can be, well, a pain”; and “Formulated to help relieve your pain.”
Earlier this year, MHRA rejected complaints made against a TV ad for Perrigo's Solpadeine Max pain relief product. The complainants alleged that there had been “no warning about the potential dangers for addiction” in the ad, the MHRA reported, and had failed to point out that the product “should not be taken for more than three days.”
MHRA pointed out that the ad contained the wording ‘Contains Codeine. Can cause addiction. Use for 3 days only. Always read the label,’ which was in accordance with guidance agreed with the Proprietary Association of Great Britain. (Also see "Ouch! Two UK Analgesic Ad Complaints: Reckitt Rapped, Perrigo Pardoned" - HBW Insight, 1 Mar, 2019.)
UK TV ad for Solpadeine which ran in 2018
XLS In Hot Water In Spain
In a separate case, Spain’s Association for the Self-regulation of Commercial Communication (Autocontrol) has cleared Perrigo of wrongdoing after three complaints alleged a television advertisement for its XLS Medical Forte 5 weight-loss aid contained inappropriate messages for minors.
The complainants took issue with the timing of the ad – which ran earlier this year to support the launch of XLS Medical Forte 5 in Spain – after it appeared alongside children’s television programs.
Featuring “real testimony” from an XLS user, the ad detailed how Katie Green had lost 8kg in weight over a nine-week period while taking XLS Medical Forte 5. On screen text explained that Green’s weight loss had been achieved through XLS use combined with a balanced diet and regular physical exercise.
Such an ad was “inappropriate” for children’s television, the complainants alleged, as it could lead to minors developing body image concerns, and even anorexia. Children might also believe XLS could help them to “lose weight effortlessly.”
Autocontrol investigated whether the ad violated Article 7 of the General Law of Audio-visual Communications which related to the rights of minors. Specifically subsection 2, prohibiting advertising before 10pm for slimming products or aesthetic procedures which “promote the cult of the body” and includes negative body image messages.
Autocontrol’s advertising jury rejected the complaints, on the grounds that XLS was a regulated medical device and the content of the ad promoted weight loss for a “healthy purpose” – i.e. for individuals who were overweight – rather than for “body worship” or as a rejection of certain body types. As the ad did not breach Article 7 of the Law, no time restriction on when the promotion could be aired was necessary, the jury stated.