Current Situation
A well-known pharmaceutical product of significant importance to the company faced a serious issue. A consumer went to a television channel to report the product for a potential health hazard. The alleged incident stated that, after consuming a compromised tablet of this medicine, the consumer experienced gastrointestinal problems and required medical attention, risking his life. The Tv channel, without following proper legal and ethical procedures, immediately aired the claim in a shocking program, accusing the company on a national network without verifying the information. The story remained in the news for several days until the situation was resolved, exposing the company to potential reputational damage.
Action Plan
A rapid-response task force was immediately formed, bringing together representatives from nearly all administrative departments of the company, along with the participation of the external legal advisor. All relevant national authorities and internal European-level departments were promptly informed.
Any external communications and official statements were required to be jointly approved and signed by the entire task force and the company’s General Manager.
At the core of the team, the department director, the regulatory affairs manager, and the product marketing manager conducted an exhaustive review of all available data—audio, visual, and written—within the first 24 hours. Under no circumstances was there any communication with the broadcaster, despite significant external pressure, nor with the patient or the patient’s family.
Statistics
Final Result
Despite the unexpected and unprecedented situation, we successfully avoided additional damage from mismanagement throughout the entire process. Often, while immediate harm can be prevented, collateral damage occurs due to poor crisis handling.
- The commercial performance of the pharmaceutical product remained entirely unaffected; on the contrary, its growth continued despite the highly negative publicity it received.
- Company employees recognized the effective actions of the team, which in turn increased their overall trust in management decisions.
After a thorough overnight review of the footage, a team member discovered that the vial shown on the channel for three days as containing the compromised tablets—allegedly used by the consumer who experienced the issue—actually contained all intact tablets. Consequently, the conclusion and factual outcome were that while the tablets may have been compromised in some way, none were actually consumed. The incident was an opportunistic attempt to claim compensation.