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A German pharmaceutical company has been reprimanded following its inappropriate use of Twitter, where it advertised two new medicinal drugs on the site.

The chemical and pharmaceutical company Bayer AG, tweeted about two new drugs, which are called Levitra and Savitex. Levitra can be used in the treatment of erectile dysfunction. Savitex is a pain-killer used to treat multiple sclerosis, which is an inflammatory disease.

The tweets in question came from @BayerUKIreland. And according to 'InPharm', one said: (Levitra) 'First & only melt-in-the-mouth erectile dysfunction treatment launched by Bayer today http://tinyurl.com/6hfxymf.' And the second said: 'Sativex® launched in UK for the treatment of spasticity due to Multiple Sclerosis http://tiny.cc/kiz2y.'

The Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority (PMCPA) criticised Bayer for disobeying the rules of the drugs industry, and ruled that the company had disregarded the European law that bans any public advertisements related to prescription-only medications.

Bayer's official Twitter account (@BAYER) has more than 600 followers, some of which are members of the public. But this year, the PMCPA issued official guidance on how to use Twitter and engage in digital communications appropriately.

It said: 'If a company wanted to promote a medicine via Twitter, it would have to ensure that if the medicine was prescription only, the audience was restricted to health professionals.'

According to the regulatory body, tweeting about new drugs for marketing purposes is not appropriate. The PMCPA said that only if information was accurately provided and balanced could it be made public, but the social networks were not to be used as a tool for marketing. However, the pharmaceutical company will not be issued with a financial penalty.

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