A few days ago the news, reported by the press, of the crime of comparison contested by the Prosecutor of the Republic of Bologna against doctors, pharmacists and executives and an ISF of a pharmaceutical company. This episode follows a similar event in Bari about a year later.
The AIISF considers these episodes unacceptable and condemns them in the most absolute way.
Facts of this kind, even if sporadic and committed by a few elements (we wouldn't even call them ISF), discredit the entire category of 25,000 Italian whistleblowers who work honestly and in compliance with the law.
We can understand that the paroxysmal sales pressure of some companies or to safeguard one's job or more simply to take unexpectedly sales-related bonuses can push the weakest subjects to attitudes that are not in keeping with deontology, but we are never, ever willing to justify them .
Nobody wants to contest the right of Pharmaceutical Companies to make profits nor that scientific information can be oriented towards sales, but, precisely because the drug is not just any consumer good and precisely to avoid conflicts of interest, the ISF should not have nothing to do with sales, which compete with others.
For some time now, there has been a desire to introduce the figure of the "commercial" informant into Italy. It is good to know that if something like this were to happen, the cases of comparison would increase dramatically.
We hope that Farmindustria enforces the Code of Conduct it has given itself and that the State increases the penalties for those found guilty of these offences.
Finally, we invite all Colleagues who should feel "forced" to break the law to immediately contact our sections, present in every province, where they will have all the legal assistance they need.
