Here are some sobering numbers: Last year, 27 drugmakers were convicted for a total of 62 counts of breaking advertising rules, according to Dagens Nyheter, a Swedish newspaper (but you can read a story in English here). The companies were fined a total of 4.9 billion kronor, or about $700,000. In 18 cases, drugmakers were fine the maximum penalty of 100,000 kronor, or $14,000. The number of serious cases has doubled since 2005.

The worst offender: Novartis, which was tagged 7 times. A spokeman blamed the violations on a failure of ‘internal procedures.’

In a remarkable moment of self-reflection, Richard Bergström, head of the Swedish Association of the Pharmaceutical Industry, said it was clear that the current maximum fines were not a sufficient deterrent. He reportedly told the Swedish newspaper that lawyers had been asked to look at ways of making the sanctions more effective.

Any suggestions?

[tags]Advertising, Sweden[/tags]