Legislative proposals that would allow drug companies to advertise certain medicines direct to consumers as well as speed up approval of new drugs is expected to be unveiled by the European Commission on Wednesday, according to Reuters.
The proposals would allow companies to promote drugs for certain chronic illnesses — including AIDS, diabetes and asthma — direct to consumers for a trial period of five years.
“This is aimed at addressing the situation today where some patients can access non-EU Web sites to get information while other patients who are not online cannot,” the spokesman said.
He pointed out that even people with access to the Internet risked getting false information because drugs marketed outside the EU often differed from those marketed in the EU, even when the name of the drug was the same.
