In the latest installment, audio tapes have found their way to Peter Rost’s inbox. The former Pfizer exec-turned-whisteblower writes on his blog that the tapes may be the latest indication that AstraZeneca has been using off-label marketing tactics to push its Arimidex cancer drug.

If true, this could violate a Corporate Integrity Agreement the drugmaker signed in 2003. Already, the HHS Office of Inspector General is aware of the unfolding saga, which began with a regional sales manager referring to such practices in an internal newsletter. The company disavowed after the remarks were publicized and fired the manager, Mike Zubillaga.

Earlier, various sales and marketing memos were circulated by anonymous AstraZeneca employees, who call themselves the Gang of Seven, to Rost and other blogs, including Pharmalot. The memos have not been authenticated but purportedly contain examples of off-label tactics by the drugmaker’s oncology team. The tapes are in the same vein.

Briefly, a CD sent to the oncology sales forced in January contains two specific audio tracks that appear to offer suggestions for selling the drugmaker’s Arimidex against Femara, a Novartis drug. However, there was no comparitive data because head-to-head trials were never done.

A round-about approach approach was apparently used. As pointed out previously, AstraZeneca conducted a study comparing Arimidex with tamoxifen, as did Novartis with its own drug. The tapes suggest a blueprint for minimizing the Novartis drug while also getting a doc to talk about his or her view of both drugs.

Here’s one track, and here’s the other.

Hat tip to Question Authority.

[tags]Arimidex, AstraZeneca, Mike Zubillaga[/tags]