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January 8, 2013

Distribution & Marketing of Drugs – Thailand Chapter

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European Lawyer Reference Series

The 2012 edition of Distribution & Marketing of Drugs is a reference guide, covering 20 jurisdictions, for pharmaceutical companies, legal professionals, and marketing companies. Each chapter provides an overview of the legal systems and statutes in place relating to the distribution and marketing of drugs to consumers and businesses, covering all forms of promotion law, industry codes, and legal sanctions.

The Thailand chapter, written by Alan Adcock, Areeya Pornwiriyangkura, and Clemence Gautier, members of the Tilleke & Gibbins intellectual property team, covers the following in more detail:

Distribution

  • Pre-conditions for distribution, licensing requirements, and exceptions to legal requirements, such as compassionate use.
  • Any named patients and compassionate use programs in place, and their corresponding pre-launch requirements.
  • The costs and structure of the procedure regarding licensing a drug for distribution, and the national body or agency responsible for licensing.
  • Distribution of drugs virtually.
  • Legal remedies against licensing decisions.

Distribution to Consumers

  • The different categories of drugs for distribution and authorization of distribution of prescription and over-the-counter drugs.
  • The body responsible for supervising distribution activities to consumers, their extent of power and implementation, legal remedies or appeals against their decisions, and consequences of non-compliance.

Wholesale Distribution

  • The legal regime regarding wholesale of drugs, including the conditions of distribution, agencies responsible for supervising the distribution, how their supervision is implemented, legal remedies or appeals against their decisions, and consequences of noncompliance.

Marketing and Promotion

  • The general legalities surrounding marketing of drugs, limits on marketing, any codes of conduct prevalent in Thailand, and how they are enforced in line with the law.

Marketing to Consumers

  • The legal regime in Thailand with respect to marketing to consumers, which products can and cannot be advertised, and what kind of marketing activities are permitted when drugs are being advertised to consumers.
  • The provision of free samples, special offers, and advertising on the internet, and any rules or codes of conduct surrounding advertising mediums, how their supervision is implemented, legal remedies or appeals against their decisions, and consequences of noncompliance.

Marketing to Professionals

  • The marketing activities that are legally permitted in Thailand when marketing to professionals, including those that are prohibited, restrictions placed on sales representatives, and on meetings with groups of professionals.
  • What information is legally required to be included in advertising to professionals, rules on comparisons with other products, rules on discounts, and rules on the provision of free samples.
  • The conditions under which professionals can be sponsored (if permissible), indirect incentives, and the supervision of all marketing activities.

Distribution & Marketing of Drugs is published by the European Lawyer Reference Series from Thomson Reuters. For more information on the publication, please visit the Sweet & Maxwell website.

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