LSHC Horizons Brochure 2024 - Flipbook - Page 73
Hogan Lovells | 2024 Life Sciences and Health Care Horizons | Cross-jurisdictional
Navigating the digital age: A comparative approach
to pharmaceutical advertising on social media (continued)
In Japan, there is no difference between
social media communications and other types
of communications. As such, social media
communications in respect of medicinal
products would typically be subject to
the general legal framework applicable
to communications about such drugs, in
particular the Act on Securing Quality,
Efficacy and Safety of Products including
Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices (PMD
Act) and the Standards for Appropriate
Advertisement of Drugs, etc. (Appropriate
Advertisement Standards). According to the
PMD Act, advertisement or promotion of
unapproved drugs is prohibited. Furthermore,
advertisement or promotion of prescriptiononly-drugs to the general public (excluding
HCPs) is not permissible under the
Appropriate Advertisement Standards.
In contrast, advertisement of OTC drugs to
the general public is permissible, but this
remains subject to strict regulations, including
the PMD Act and Appropriate Advertisement
Standards; misleading or exaggerated
advertisements are prohibited, for instance.
The definition of product advertisement or
promotion is interpreted rather broadly in
practice in Japan, which makes it even more
important for companies to establish and
enforce clear internal policies about the sharing
of information about medicinal products via
social media and to continue to educate and
monitor accordingly.
Dr. Frederick Ch'en
Office Managing Partner
Tokyo
Since the dissemination of advertising
messages through social media networks
knows no boundaries and the possibility of
reposting messages from countries different
from those in which the message was created,
published, or intended can impact the
applicable law, identifying the applicable
regulations, and adopting safeguards to reduce
the risk of violating various regulations in the
countries where the message might be spread
is one of the most significant challenges for
pharmaceutical companies. Furthermore,
considering that the risks of breaches for
pharmaceutical companies can also arise from
employees publishing and sharing activities on
their personal accounts, to mitigate these risks
it is essential to establish comprehensive social
media policies that cover employees’ personal
social media accounts and provide training
about these policies and related issues.
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