Pharma CARE Company Analysis
Introduction
In this paper, I am going to write a document memo featuring all the problems for the high-ranking partners of Pharma CARE. Three most important ethical issues will be discussed in the memo which is related to advertising, marketing, and intellectual property along with regulation of safety of the product and analyzing whether any of these problems in question are violated by the Pharma CARE. Here, I will do arguments directly to the consumer marketing for the pros and cons. Next, it will be determined that which parties are answerable for the regulation of compounding pharmacies within the new regulatory system, and all those actions that should be taken by these parties in this setup, and whether any legal exposure should be faced by Pharma CARE. After that analysis is made for which US law was used by Pharma CARE to secure their personal intellectual property & if it was claimed by John or not to be the real creator of AD23, & if it is true then how will he be compensated by the Pharma CARE. After all this, a summary of the recent example of theft related to intellectual property will be given, and its effects on company’s brand will be examined. By using that example, potential issues will be analyzed by me regarding the John’s wife’s death and similar other complainants against Pharma CARE because of AD23. In the end, both important arguments will be specified that can be made by John to prove that he for sure is the main whistle blower and type of securities that he ought to be afforded to him.
Ethical Matters
According to the first amendment of US Constitution, Freedom of voice is guaranteed regarding commercial speech. Except, it is considered obscene, offensive, or similar to provoking violent activities, the expression is secured by the marketplace of concepts and ideas (Halbert & Ingulli, 2012). According to my thoughts, first, the amendment was not violated by PharmaCARE as it’s the right of those people to have full information on all products that are available.
The information flow to consumers cannot be standardized or prohibited by the state law because it gave rise to the supposition that their community is not sophisticated enough to recognize the advertising limitations. (Halbert & Ingulli, 2012).1914’s The act of Federal Trade, according to Halbert & Ingulli (2012), “illegal ways of competition & deceptive and unfair practices and acts,” including misleading or false advertising. FTC was violated by the Pharma CARE when it is related to the safety of product because of left out and misleading information. Once it was acknowledged by Pharma CARE that people have heart attacks at a very alarming rate after receiving AD23, then they should stop the sale of this product temporarily. But instead, they overlooked the information and continued filling the orders. And this is against FTC Act as they are suppressing the information for consumers. Consumer demand theory was also ethically dishonored by the Pharma CARE.
One of the major and broad propositions of the theory is, “wants are originating in consumer’s personality (Halbert & Ingulli, 2012).” “As the community is becoming more prosperous, there is an increased creation of want by the phenomenon through which that is fulfilled. This may function passively. Consumption increase by emulation or suggestion to produce wants. Or these are the producers who are creating wants actively through salesmanship or advertising (Halbert & Ingulli, 2012). PharmaCARE, when started having fictitious patient’s names list by the doctors, and started advertising to clinics, physician offices and hospital they satisfied a demand created by them and this fact, was violated that is not allowed to compounding pharmacies to sell out the drugs for general use in bulk.
Direct to Consumer
It is quite difficult for me the go for a stand when Direct to Consumer marketing is in front of me. According to a survey conducted by Drug and Food Administration in 2004, according to most of the physicians, one of the main reason that their dealings with patients and medical practices are affected is by viewing direct-to-consumer advertisements. As Direct consumer marketing aids patients to involved more with healthcare and be more knowledgeable about the available ways of getting relief.
However, if we check the flip side, then it can result in new wants of patients to take medication in access that might not be effective 100% and can cause greater negative effects. This is the point where conflict arises in. Although the consumers are more involved in taking initiatives relating to their healthcare while paying attention to pitches of marketing salesman but it usually leaves out negative side effects. Consequently, all of the consumers only listen to the good things of medication, what that medicine can do, but don’t hear the specifics about how it might intermingle with another medicine or produce new ones. As an outcome of such information, it becomes difficult for the physicians to prescribe alternate treatment method to patients.
Responsible Parties
Drug and Food Administration, The Center for Drug Evaluation and Research and The Consumer Product Safety Commission parties were responsible for controlling and organizing compounding pharmacies. Drug and Food Administration has the authority and is in charge of promoting and protecting public health by overseeing and monitoring of food, prescription, tobacco and other new pharmaceutical drugs. In 1972, Consumer Product Safety Commission was formulated to secure customers from unreasonable risk related to death due to unsafe products, illness, and injury (Halbert & Ingulli, 2012). Center for Drug Evaluation and Research has the duty to make it sure that the medicines that are accessible in the market to assist in improving individual’s health in the US are effective and safe.
CDER is considered as important part of FDA that regulates over counter drugs sale and prescriptions. Strict action against CompCARE and PharmaCARE should be taken by the above three organizations. One of the main action should be that big companies will not be permitted to start the wholly-owned subsidiary branch of the company without taking themselves to be answerable for their activities. It should be illegal to start compounding pharmacy to evade the inspection of FDA blatantly. Such companies should be considered answerable for their illegal activities just if like they were parent company. This would result in avoidance of too many injuries, backlash and death even. According to my perception, the drug’s recreation to make it fit the requirements of specific patients is something that must be monitored severely. As the existence of these laws is impossible so I don’t think that PharmaCARE ought to face any legal exposure relating to its actions.
Intellectual Property
The law area that is dealing with protecting the individual’s rights who are producing their original works is known as intellectual property. From novel to original plays, marks of company’s identification to the invention, it covers all. The basic motive behind laws of intellectual property is to inspire new inventions, artistic expressions, and technologies while encouraging economic growth of the economy. When a security is given to individuals that all the creative work will be secured and they will be benefited from their labor, then they continue producing things that will develop the latest technology, create jobs, craft more beauty in the world surrounding us and make processes well organized. Us law was used by PharmaCARE to defend their intellectual property as since PharmaCARE is known as the parent company and John was working under the company wholly-owned by them, so all products and findings belong to Pharma CARE. SO now, whether John was working for himself and was contracted by Pharma CARE for his services then John would be eligible for compensation. According to the patent regulations, trademark and copyright rules, John should be authorized for compensation.
Current Example
A patent was received by Ford in 2014 on software developed internally that was based on technology according to Versata, which was rented to Ford and is known as Automotive Configuration Manager. This software by Versata was able to identify incompatible parts in various vehicle configuration, that will in return assists vehicle manufacturers to reduce recalls and similar other concerns.
Issues
Whistle blower
By the views of Herbert and Ingulli (specifically talking about the year 2012), blowing the whistle was a reported act by the employees of a firm about the unlawful or immoral acts of an employer. To understand the idea we must better know who is a whistleblower, so it is a person who feels that it is his duty or an obligation upon him to blow a whistle when feel like shedding light on some important actor during an event. Such a situation is mainly unlawful, immoral and corrupt at the place of work; it may also affect the status of the company or may also add a bad name, ill repute, and dishonor to the company.
It may also break or lessen the trust, make them isolated and secluded and further leads to termination. James Crowley, of the Chicago State University, was an employee of the company was so-called fired, the reason behind firing him was the refusal to reserve papers related to the University’s president. This was asked to him as a request made to keep, under the state’s public records law. Crowley was also going through his whistle-blower case in which he earlier added that he was hit back for just reporting doubtful agreements to the Attorney General’s office. The case Crowley filed was not a simple claim, but it was the claim targeting not only the University but also the President, Wayne Watson, and seven other trustees of the company. At the time when Watson was selected Chicago state’s president, James Crowley was working on reportage of information into public records, and both of them were not on the same page for responding these requests.
The inconsistency and disturbance gathered round Watson’s start at the very starting time of his career at University. If Crowley had ever reported that Watson took the start on the first of August, on that case, Watson would never have been entitled to the pension which he received from his previous job at City Colleges of Chicago. This could be termed as a dilemma since the law demands at least sixty days to transfer state jobs.
Justification
It is believed that James was defensible in making a report that the info was not fabricating documents. Whereas in the year 2003 there was a special action taken by Governor Rod Blagojevich, he played a great role in introducing the Employees Ethics Act, the major purpose behind designing such an act was to stop the unlawful and corrupt activity by state officials all over the state. The following law put forward an obligation upon all the employees that they all must go through the training under the new law, that the employees were well aware of all the current information. In case the law is dishonored, there result both the civil and criminal penalties for the one violating the law, but the law saves the whistleblowers who report the misconduct. Therefore, from the above case, one gets to know that if James has never had reported the correct information, in that case, he must have violated and disrespected the law and would have gone through risking his life for penalties and other possible criminal charges. Mr. Crowley was therefore bound to obey what his duty asks for to save himself and the company which he serves.
Sarbanes-Oxley Act
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act “stops any public company from being unjust to any one of the employees who had under the law given detailed information or has otherwise assisted well in an ongoing investigation of the behavior in which the employee “sensibly believes” establishes a desecration of the centralized sanctuaries law.”
Many harmful effects were leading from the drug addiction; some were more than adverse which cost the life of the addict, many customers died as a result of overdosing the drug. One such example was that of John’s wife. The thought that the company already expected the same danger and had the knowledge that if the AD23 is used excessively would result horrifically but the company seemed to do nothing astonishing. On the other hand, it was seen that there was a massive success in the business by excessive production commercially and the company stayed silent on the large-scale death rate resulting from the drug use by its consumers. There can be another view as well which can state that the act was not ethically wrong, but there had been something else as well, one might assume that the delay results from a detailed study of its side effects. The major issue raised here states that there is an unethical and illegal conduct on the part of the Pharma Care that even in making sure that the company is doing its best for the security of its employees and customers.
Specify both the major arguments that John can make to claim that he is a whistle blower and the type of protections that he should be afforded. Justify your response.
The whistle blower’s protection points out the handling of a company or by involving a government with a person responsible for reporting a dishonest or unlawful activity, showing discrimination towards one party of socioeconomic associations, which can be further checked and proved the fault of accused (other) party. John could also have been called a whistle blower if he ever asked for or made a request for his protection under his supervision, the executive director HR and labor union, DFA, or another legal establishment. They are grateful to safeguard his confidentiality along with his non-retaliation. Since it is the fact that John knew much about the negative after-effects of the drug AD23, but having this knowledge, one cannot assume that he knew that the following drug would result/ had resulted in the following numerous casualties. He had guidance about Pharma Care, he got experienced with its awareness of their corporate plans and also the internal, central memo belonging to the company, which described that there are certainly potential issues with AD23. Therefore, John was not faulty and was liable to ask for protection and safety under the whistle blower laws (Workplace Fairness, n.d).
References
Halbert, T., & Ingulli, E. (2012). Law and Ethics in the Business Environment (7th ed.). Mason, OH
U.S. Department of State. International Information Programs. Field, Thomas G. Jr. “What is Intellectual Property.” Available from http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/intelprp/ August 2015
World Trade Commission. “Intellectual Property: Protection and Enforcement.” Retrieved from http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/agrm7_e.htm
U.S. Food and Drug. (2015). The Impact of Direct-to-Consumer Advertising. Retrieved from http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/ucm143562.htm
AIPLA. (2017). What is IP Law? Retrieved from http://www.aipla.org/about/iplaw/Pages/default.aspx
