Drugmakers ‘misled consumers’, rules Federal Court

Pharmaceutical giants GlaxoSmithKline Australia and Novartis Consumer Health Australasia have admitted they broke consumer laws by misleading shoppers in regard to pain relief products. The Federal Court has ruled that both GSK and Novartis had breached Australian Consumer Law by making false or misleading assertions in the marketing of Voltaren Osteo Gel and Voltaren Emulgel products.

GSK caught in the federal court again. Photo: UTV

Pharmaceutical giants GlaxoSmithKline Australia and Novartis Consumer Health Australasia have admitted they broke consumer laws by misleading shoppers in regard to pain relief products.

The Federal Court has ruled that both GSK and Novartis had breached Australian Consumer Law by making false or misleading assertions in the marketing of two Voltaren pain relief products: Voltaren Osteo Gel and Voltaren Emulgel.

Proceedings were taken by the ACCC after it found that the two products had been sold at different prices despite having the same active ingredients, it said in a statement — emulating a previous court ruling against the makers of Nurofen, Reckitt Benckiser, for similar conduct.

ACCC commissioner Sarah Court commented on the decision following proceedings:

“Novartis and GSK misled osteoarthritis sufferers into buying the more expensive Osteo Gel thinking that it was more effective than Emulgel for treating their symptoms, when this is not the case.”

According to the ACCC, these claims were made on product packaging as well as in website marketing.

Both companies admitted to breaching consumer protection laws.

The legal action had been flagged by the competition regulator back in December 2017.

The ACCC said that a separate hearing at an unspecified later date will be held to determine penalties.

Those penalties could run into the millions of dollars, given the precedent set by the Nurofen case which culminated in a $6 million penalty for Reckitt Benckiser.

BIG PHARMA INFLUENCE

The story above is another example of behaviour by an oligopoly of pharmaceutical giants that continue to influence Australia politics, media and regulatory industries,

These companies promote an agenda of consumption over healing, disinformation over informed discussion and manipulation over security of their products.

Prescription drug addiction continues to fly under the radar as the leading cause of drug-induced deaths across the country – information suppressed to ensure medical giants continue to profit off pain and addiction.

Big Pharma’s footprint in Australia is undeniable, from documented statistics and policies, lobbying and bribery, national systems to monitor customer behaviour and the destruction of the natural medicines industry.

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