A Clonmel-based pharmaceutical company has invited 2,000 family doctors to avail of a "unique opportunity" to buy its shares. Concern about the approach has been expressed by the Irish College of General Practitioners, which is to consider raising it with pharmaceutical industry representatives.
The letter, from Clonmel Healthcare to the majority of the State's 2,300 GPs, said the share price of its German parent company, Stada AG, had risen by 85 per cent last year. "In appreciation of your support, there is now an opportunity to become part of the success of Stada by becoming a shareholder."
A Dublin-based GP who received the letter, Dr Cyril Daly, said the possession of such shares might influence doctors' prescribing patterns. That was a matter of debate, "but it is beyond doubt that it invites public conjecture regarding the objectivity of those doctors".
The proposal, he said, was also capable of influencing the direction of "considerable public funds" by encouraging shareholding doctors to prescribe the company's drugs to patients with medical cards.
The approach was defended yesterday by the company. Its chief executive, Mr Rory O'Riordan, who wrote the letter, said the intention was to raise awareness of a roadshow being held by Stada in Dublin later this month. The company routinely held such events around Europe.
There was no possibility of GPs influencing the share price of the group by prescribing Clonmel Healthcare products, as the Irish company's business was "a drop in the ocean" compared with Stada's overall sales.
Stada, he said, had turnover last year of €530 million (£417 million), while Clonmel Healthcare's sales were €10 million (£7.9 million). "Even if we doubled our sales to €20 million, it wouldn't matter a hill of beans as far as the Stada share price is concerned."
He did not expect many doctors to attend the roadshow, which was aimed at investors generally and not just the medical profession.
"But we know some doctors do invest in the healthcare sector. They feel they know more about it than the exploration industry. We often get queries about investment in healthcare and we just wanted to let people know it was on."
The president of the Irish College of General Practitioners, Dr Richard Brennan, said the company's approach was not something he would encourage.
"I think it is unhealthy for the relationship between the pharmaceutical industry and the medical profession.
"As a college we would prefer to see a distancing in that particular relationship. I think it's important that people have properly defined boundaries and it's not something I would be in favour of," Dr Brennan said.
He had received the letter himself and had "binned it" and he expected most GPs would have done the same.
He said the ICGP had not received any complaints from members about the letter, but would consider raising it with the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association.