Candeye’s Big Idea Candeye Makesum is the new Vice President of Marketing for a

Question

Candeye’s Big Idea Candeye Makesum is the new Vice President of Marketing for a large online search engine company, Boggle Search. Candeye has been doing some research into how she can increase the company’s revenues and thereby really impress the company brass. During her research, she came across an article about Brazilian pharmacies looking for an advertising vehicle to tap into the U.S. consumer market. Further research reveals that allowing the pharmacies to advertise on the Boggle site could be a million-dollar venture and if Boggle plays its cards right, it could make a substantial amount. Makesum is super ecstatic about the possibilities and is salivating over what this could mean for her career with Boggle. Before Makesum pulls the trigger on this, she does some research and consults with the Boggle legal department. She learns the following: 1. The shipment of prescription drugs from pharmacies outside the United States to customers in the United States may violate the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and in the case of controlled prescription drugs, the Controlled Substances Act. 2. The FDA cannot ensure the safety and effectiveness of foreign prescription drugs that are not FDA-approved. 3. Imported drugs typically do not meet FDA’s labeling requirements and may not have been manufactured, stored and distributed under proper conditions; and may not have been dispensed in accordance with a valid prescription. 4. The government has historically been very lax in enforcing the laws in this area and legally there are a few gray areas, therefore the risk of any prosecution may not be significant. Makesum has also learned that foreign pharmaceuticals—even those that have not received U.S. FDA approval, are usually safe, and that, in fact, more people in the U.S. die from not taking the medication they need because they couldn’t afford that medicine, than die from using lower-priced foreign-manufactured pharmaceuticals. Makesum believes there is an informational component to letting consumers know about this option that could make necessary prescriptions more affordable. After the consultation with Legal, Makesum is confused as to what her decision should be. Boggle wouldn’t be selling or shipping these products itself. If you were advising Makesum on the ethical implications presented by this case, what would you say to her? Specifically, what ethical problems and issues do you see, if any?

Explanation / Answer

The ethical situation in this case is that though foreign-manufactured pharmaceuticals are not FDA approved, are quite safe and can be beneficial for saving life, however their usage and coverage is against the federal laws of the country. Makesum needs to select her course of action in such a case- should she go with the idea of providing foreign-manufactured medicines to consumers or should she follow the federal laws and FDA rules and procedures.

In my views, taking a medicine and then dying or taking a wrong medicine is worse than not taking a medicine at all. The foreign-manufactured medicines have a risk factor associated with them, so the extent of reliability on such products varies considerably. Instead of relying on the foreign-manufactured medicines and embracing the risk factor associated with them, Makesum must try to encourage and popularize the usage and awareness of generic medicines, which are FDA and federal approved and are quite cheap for the consumers. The society lacks awareness about generic medicines and so the usage rate is quite low. Makesum can use Boggle as a platform for spreading awareness about the availability and usage of generic medicines. The company can tie up and associate with Government portals to promote generic medicines. This way, the business abides by the laws of the country as well as performs its part for the betterment of the society. Moreover the revenues of the company do not get impacted to a large extent in such a scenario.

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