Advertising Atlas ／ Switzerland
Advertising regulation in Switzerland
Regulator: Swissmedic ／ Basis: 治療用製品法（HMG）／医薬品広告令（AWV）
- Claims of efficacyAll statements in professional advertising must be consistent with the medicinal product information last approved by Swissmedic and only indications and uses approved by Swissmedic may be advertised; the statements must be accurate, balanced, factually correct, substantiable and not misleading, and must be based on and reflect the current state of scientific knowledge, with the same consistency requirement applying to advertising to the public.
- Comparative advertisingStatements comparing a medicinal product with other medicinal products are permitted only if they are scientifically correct and are based on equivalent clinical trials or data collections meeting the requirements of Art. 5(5), and where the studies used for the comparison rest on in vitro or animal experiments (for human medicines) this must be openly disclosed.
- Safety informationEvery advertisement must contain at least a summary of the restrictions on use, the undesirable effects and the interactions, alongside the brand name, the active substances under their short designation (INN), the name and address of the marketing authorisation holder, at least one indication or use together with the dosage and route of administration, the dispensing category and a reference telling the reader that detailed information is in the published medicinal product information.
- Direct-to-consumerAdvertising to the public is prohibited for medicinal products that may be dispensed only on medical prescription, that contain narcotics or psychotropic substances, that by their composition and intended purpose cannot be used without medical intervention for the corresponding diagnosis, prescription or treatment, or that are frequently misused or can lead to habituation and dependence; the ordinance permits advertising to the public only for medicines in dispensing categories C, D and E and for cantonally authorised medicines.
- Materials for HCPsThe addressees of professional advertising are limited, within the scope of their entitlement to prescribe, dispense or use medicinal products, to physicians, dentists, veterinarians and chiropractors, pharmacists, druggists, the further persons referred to in Art. 24 and 25 HMG and the persons referred to in Art. 52(2) of the Medicinal Products Ordinance, and such advertising must carry all the mandatory particulars listed in Art. 6 AWV (Art. 3, 4 and 6 AWV). As to gifts and hospitality, former Art. 11 AWV was transferred with effect from 1 January 2020 to the Ordinance on Integrity and Transparency in the Therapeutic Products Sector (VITH, SR 812.214.31, of 10 April 2019), and that ordinance has now been read. Art. 3(1) VITH permits, as benefits of modest value under Art. 55(2)(a) HMG, benefits to professionals of a total value of at most 300 francs per professional per year that are relevant to medical or pharmaceutical practice; Art. 3(2) defines relevance as a direct connection with the professional's practice of their profession or a direct benefit to the professional's clientele. Art. 3(3) allows prizes in competitions only where they consist of a benefit of modest value relevant to practice, where the competition is addressed exclusively to the addressees of professional advertising under Art. 3 AWV, and where participation is not tied to the purchase of prescription-only medicines. Art. 4 requires support contributions for research, teaching and infrastructure to be given to the employing organisation rather than to the professional, to rest on a written agreement stating the intended purpose, to be used exclusively for that purpose, not to be tied to conditions concerning the prescription, dispensing, use or purchase of particular prescription-only medicines, to be paid into a dedicated account of the organisation to which professionals have no sole access, and to be shown in the organisation's accounts. Art. 5 applies the same requirements to support for the further or continuing education of professionals and requires the organisation to decide independently on the type and selection of the education and on the participants. Art. 6 requires written agreement for support of attendance at educational events and an own contribution (Selbstkostenbeitrag) from the attending professional or the employing organisation of at least one third of the costs for a continuing-education event (Fortbildung) and at least one fifth for a specialist-training event (Weiterbildung), calculated on participation fees, outward and return travel, accommodation and meals, and any ancillary programme of clearly subordinate importance; it prohibits refunding the own contribution in whole or in part, covering indirect costs such as loss of working time or income, covering the costs of an ancillary programme that is not clearly subordinate to the professional part of the event, and covering travel, accommodation, meals or ancillary-programme costs of accompanying persons, even where those persons are themselves professionals. Art. 7 requires remuneration for equivalent consideration to rest on a written agreement stating the nature and extent of the consideration and the remuneration and to be proportionate, with meal costs of up to 100 francs in the context of a professional discussion exempted from the written-agreement requirement.
- Pre-clearanceSwitzerland has no across-the-board pre-vetting scheme: prior authorisation by Swissmedic is required only for advertising to the public under Art. 15(a) and (c) for analgesics, sleeping aids, sedatives, laxatives and anorectics where the medicinal product information mentions a potential for abuse or dependence, and, in addition, Swissmedic may require a marketing authorisation holder that has seriously or repeatedly infringed the advertising provisions to submit all planned advertising for review and approval before publication for an appropriate period.
- Digital and socialProfessional advertising may not be made publicly accessible on the internet; it must be furnished with a suitable technical, password-protected access restriction and may be made available only to the persons listed in Art. 3 AWV (Art. 5a AWV). The AWV itself contains no provision specific to social media, influencers or search advertising, but Swissmedic states its practice on this in a published FAQ ('Internetrichtlinie - Social Media'). According to that FAQ, advertising of medicinal products means all measures of information, market development and the creation of incentives that aim to promote the prescription, dispensing, sale, consumption or use of medicinal products (Art. 2(a) AWV); the advertising provisions of the HMG and the AWV apply to all advertising tools, and therefore also to advertising of medicinal products on social media. Because the scope of public advertising is broadly defined, not only the pharmaceutical industry but all actors who advertise particular medicines to the general public - the FAQ names influencers and media professionals as examples - can be addressees of the advertising provisions. Accordingly, internet advertising for prescription-only medicines must carry a suitable technical, password-protected access restriction and be made accessible only to the professionals under Art. 3 AWV. Medicines must also be unambiguously identifiable as medicines in the advertising, by carrying the mandatory notice and the other compulsory particulars including the marketing authorisation holder in accordance with Art. 16(3), Art. 16(5) and Art. 17 AWV, so that the viewer is made aware immediately and unmistakably that this is a medicine and not a food supplement, cosmetic or foodstuff, even without following any further links. The FAQ further states that, because public advertising may not raise the expectation that the effect of the medicine corresponds to or is superior to another treatment or another medicine (Art. 22(c) AWV) and may not mention or refer to testimonials or recommendations of medical or pharmaceutical laypersons (Art. 22(g) AWV), advertising of medicinal products on social media is inadmissible where the like, share and comment functions are activated for the post, so that the medicine can be rated, furnished with experience reports and recommendations, and disseminated.
- EnforcementSwissmedic may seize, officially impound or destroy unlawful advertising material, prohibit its use and publish that prohibition at the expense of those responsible, and in the event of a serious or repeated infringement of the advertising provisions may prohibit advertising for a particular therapeutic product temporarily or permanently and publish that prohibition likewise at their expense; intentional infringement of the provisions on medicinal product advertising is punishable by a fine of up to CHF 50,000, by a monetary penalty where the offender acts commercially, and by a fine of up to CHF 20,000 where the offender acts negligently.
Every cell carries a summary, a source and a date checked. Topics whose source has not been verified are left marked “not researched” rather than filled with plausible text. Directives and statutes bind as to the result; what applies in practice is national implementing law. This is a research aid, not legal advice.