• Bnet.com, Friday, July 8, 2011 10 AM

Bayer's apology for two tweets about the erectile dysfunction drug Levitra and multiple sclerosis therapy Sativex "shows how pharmaceutical companies have been virtually ring fenced out of using social media to promote drugs," writes Jim Edwards.

The company's apology, which will be in the August review of the U.K.'s Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority, follows March 2011 and June 2010 Twitter comments. The one for the melt-in-the-mouth version of Levitra said, "The first and only melt-in-the- mouth erectile dysfunction treatment launched by Bayer today." Big deal. If it were candy there wouldn't have been a peep.

Edwards notes that the tweet was an extract of a press release that had been internally "certified" by Bayer's compliance people, but the PMCPA, which regulates drug promotion in the U.K., said that wasn't good enough. As the tweet promoted a prescription drug to the public -- which is illegal in Britain -- it was in violation.

Read the whole story at Bnet.com »