Pharmalot went sniffing around the AstraZeneca booth on the convention floor at BIO, but found nothing incriminating. No wads of unmarked greenbacks, not even an empty bucket. “No, no, we have nothing like that here,” says a cheerful employee when asked where the buckets are kept. “I heard about that. We put out a press release, didn’t we?”

She was referring, of course, to the drugmaker’s recent statement saying an internal probe of off-label marketing allegations made by anonymous employees led to unspecified disciplinary actions. The scandal was set off by a regional sales manager, who was quoted in a company newsletter likening a doctor’s office to a ‘big bucket of money.’ He was quickly fired. Meanwhile, Congressman Pete Stark wants the HHS Inspector General to investigate.

On reflection, it’s not surprising that the AstraZeneca booth offers nothing untoward, although employees are, of course, hoping to throw buckets of money at biotechs willing to sell themselves or their products. The next MedImmune may be walking down the aisle right now. Having agreed to overpay $15.6 billion for that company, AstraZeneca execs are eager to hand over billions more for another company in order to prove their acquisitive instincts are correct.

BIO, however, is not a convention for doctors. If that were the case, all manner of contraband may have been at hand to satisfy the insatiable thirst for freebies. The exhibit booths, in fact, might well resemble the line-up of overpriced boutiques at the Mall at Short Hills, the swanky temple of consumption in suburban New Jersey that some call Rodeo Drive East.

Today, however, AstraZeneca appears relatively squeaky clean compared with some other big pharma types. Wyeth, for instance, has people lining up for free espresso and lattes. And dozens of other booths are giving away a numbing variety of tchotchkes - pens, book bags, cookies, apples, tourist guides and, of course, raffles (including one for a nice bicycle).

Perhaps AstraZeneca decided such goodies are frivolous. There was nary a pen to be seen. But given recent events, it may be best to save the money for the legal bills.

[tags]AstraZeneca, BIO, Mike Zubillaga, Off-Label Marketing[/tags]