Effective February 4, 2019
This Privacy Policy describes the information that we collect about you on the website from which you linked (“Site”); how we use that information; how we protect it; and the choices you may make with respect to it. When we refer to ourselves as “we" or "VIVUS," we mean VIVUS Inc. and all of its subsidiary companies. Our Site may contain links to third-party websites/content/services that are not owned or controlled by VIVUS. VIVUS is not responsible for how these properties operate or treat your personal data so we recommend that you read the privacy policies and terms associated with these third-party properties carefully.
Data We Collect And Use
We collect personal data you choose to provide, e.g., through registrations, enrollments, applications and surveys, and in connection with your inquiries and purchases. For example, you may choose to provide your name, contact information, such as your address, phone number, or email address, demographic information, health, insurance and/or financial information in connection with a promotion or a patient assistance or support program. Healthcare providers may choose to provide information relating to their specialties and professional affiliations.
In addition, we may gather information about you automatically through your use of the Site, e.g., your IP address and how you navigate our Site. See also, the Section below on Cookies and Other Tools. From time to time, we may use or augment the personal data we have about you with information obtained from other sources, such as public databases, social media platforms and other third parties. For example, we may use such third-party information to confirm contact or financial information, to verify licensure of healthcare professionals or to better understand your interests by associating demographic information with the information you have provided.
If you submit any personal data relating to other people to us, you represent that you have the authority to do so and to permit us to use the information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
How We Use Personal Data
We may use your personal data in the following ways:
To Serve You
We use your personal data to:
- Operate our business;
- Deliver our products and services;
- Process, complete and fulfill your requested transactions;
- Provide customer service and respond to requests or inquiries;
- Communicate with you;
- Tailor our marketing programs and campaigns;
- Comply with regulatory requirements, and
- Provide you with newsletters, articles, alerts, announcements, invitations, and other information about products, brands, health topics and disease states.
To Connect You with Third Parties
We may provide functionality on the Site that will allow you to forward and share certain content with a friend or colleague. If you choose to use VIVUS sharing functionality to refer someone to our content, products or services, we will use your data and that of the individual you are sharing with to send the content or link you request.
In addition, we may offer access to third-party sharing functionality, such as third-party social media widgets/tools/buttons. If you use that functionality, your use is subject to the third-party’s privacy policy and terms. As with all links to non-VIVUS websites/content/services, we recommend that you read the privacy policies and terms associated with third-party properties carefully.
To Validate Your Ability to Access/Use Certain Products, Services and Information
Some products, services and information we offer may only be suitable for/accessible to individuals meeting certain eligibility or other criteria. In such cases, we may verify that you meet such criteria. For example, certain information relating to our products is only intended for and accessible to licensed healthcare professionals and we may use information we collect directly from you and from outside sources to validate your licensure and eligibility to view such information.
In Accordance with Special Program Terms
On occasion, VIVUS may offer special programs, activities, events or promotions via the Site (“Special Programs”) that have specific terms, privacy notices and/or consent forms that explain how any personal data you provide will be processed in connection with the Special Program. We strongly suggest you review the terms applicable to the Special Program before participating.
To Improve Products and Services and Protect Patients and Consumers
We use the information you provide for data analysis, to better understand how our products and services impact you and those you care for, to track and respond to concerns, for fraud prevention and to further develop and improve our products and services. In addition, we use the information you provide to comply with our regulatory monitoring and reporting obligations including those related to adverse events, product complaints and patient safety.
In Aggregated or De-identified Form
We may aggregate and/or de-identify data about visitors to our Site and use it for any purpose, including product and service development and improvement activities.
How We Share Your Personal Data
VIVUS may share your personal data as follows:
Within Our Family of Companies
VIVUS Inc. and its subsidiary companies may share your personal data amongst and between each other for the purposes set forth in this Privacy Policy.
In Connection with Business Transfers
If we sell or transfer a business unit (such as a subsidiary) or an asset (such as a website) to another company (including in connection with any bankruptcy or similar proceedings), we will share your personal data with such company and will require such company to use and protect your personal data consistent with this Privacy Policy.
With Providers
We may retain other companies and individuals to perform services on our behalf and we may collaborate with other companies and individuals with respect to particular products or services (collectively, “Providers”). Examples of Providers include data analysis firms, credit card processing companies, customer service and support providers, email and SMS vendors, web hosting and development companies and fulfillment companies. Providers also include our co-promote partners for products that we jointly develop and/or market with other companies. To access services available from a co-promote site you may have to complete a new online registration form, and this registration information may be shared with our co-promote partners. You should read the individual privacy policies of our co-promote partners, as they may differ in some respects form ours. Some Providers may collect personal data on our behalf on our Site. These third parties may be provided with access to personal data needed to perform their functions, but they may not use such data other than on our behalf or subject to contracts that protect the confidentiality of the data.
To Comply with law/Protect
We reserve the right to disclose your personal data as required by law, when we believe disclosure is necessary or appropriate to comply with a regulatory requirement, judicial proceeding, court order, government request, or legal process served on us, or to protect the safety, rights, or property of our customers, the public, VIVUS or others.
In the Aggregate/De-identified
VIVUS may also disclose aggregate or de-identified data that is not personally identifiable to third parties for any purpose.
Cookies and Other Tools
VIVUS and its Providers collect information about you by using cookies, tracking pixels and other technologies (collectively, “Tools”). We use this information to better understand, customize and improve user experience with our websites, services and offerings as well as to manage our advertising. For example, we use web analytics services that leverage these Tools to help us to understand how visitors engage with and navigate our Site, e.g., how and when pages in a site are visited and by how many visitors. We are also able to offer our visitors a more customized, relevant experience on our sites using these Tools by delivering content and functionality based on your preferences and interests. If we have collected your personal data, e.g., through a registration or a request for certain materials, we may associate this personal data with information gathered through the Tools. This allows us to offer increased personalization and functionality on the Site.
Your web browser can be set to allow you to control whether you will accept cookies, reject cookies, or to notify you each time a cookie is sent to your browser. If your browser is set to reject cookies, websites that are cookie-enabled will not recognize you when you return to the website, and some website functionality may be lost. The Help section of your browser may tell you how to prevent your browser from accepting cookies. To find out more about cookies, visit www.allaboutcookies.org.
Certain information is collected by most browsers or automatically through your device, such as your Media Access Control (MAC) address, computer type (Windows or Macintosh), screen resolution, operating system name and version, device manufacturer and model, language and Internet browser type and version. We use this information to ensure that the services function properly.
Your IP address is a number that is automatically assigned to the computer that you are using by your Internet Service Provider. An IP address may be identified and logged automatically in our server log files whenever a user accesses the Site, along with the time of the visit and the pages visited. Collecting IP addresses is standard practice and is done automatically by many websites, applications and other services. We use IP addresses for purposes such as calculating usage levels, diagnosing server problems and administering the Site. We may also derive your approximate location from your IP address.
We may use Google Analytics, which uses cookies and similar technologies to collect and analyze information about use of the Site and report on activities and trends. This service may also collect information regarding the use of other websites, apps and online resources. You can learn about Google’s practices by going to www.google.com/policies/privacy/partners/, and opt-out of them by downloading the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on, available at https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.
Interest-based Advertising and the Advertising Option Icon
VIVUS hopes to deliver to you advertising for products and services you need or want. There are many ways to do this in the online advertising world. For example, VIVUS partners with websites and applications with whom you have shared your interests, conditions and concerns directly and asks that they serve our ads to users who have expressed an interest in VIVUS products or health conditions that our products treat. We may also partner with advertising companies that may place or recognize a unique cookie on your browser (including through the use of pixel tags), or use other technologies, to serve you ads based on your web browsing activity, purchases, interests and/or other information—a practice commonly referred to as interest-based advertising (“IBA”) or online behavioral advertising (“OBA”). These advertising companies may also use these types of technologies to recognize you across the devices you use, such as a mobile phone or a laptop, and serve you ads on websites you visit and applications you use. You can read more about IBA at a site offered by the advertising industry’s Digital Advertising Alliance (“DAA”), aboutads.info.
We want it to be easy for you to understand how we and our business partners use information to serve ads tailored for you and to opt-out from targeting based on IBA. To learn how to opt-out of having the information collected from you used for IBA purposes on the particular device on which you are accessing this Privacy Policy, please visit http://www.aboutads.info/choices/. If you have any questions about our use of IBA, please do not hesitate to contact us at Privacy@VIVUS.com.
At this time, we do not respond to browser do-not-track signals.
Security Policies
We use technical, administrative and procedural measures in an attempt to safeguard your personal data from unauthorized access or use. No such measure is ever 100% effective though, so we do not guarantee that your personal data will be secure from theft, loss, or unauthorized access or use, and we make no representation as to the reasonableness, efficacy, or appropriateness of the measures we use to safeguard such data. Users are responsible for maintaining the secrecy of their own passwords. If you have reason to believe that your interaction with us is no longer secure (for example, if you feel that the security of any account you might have with us has been compromised), please immediately notify us by contacting us at Privacy@VIVUS.com.
Your Privacy Choices and Updates
You may update your personal data and your preferences. Different programs and services may offer different phone numbers, links or preference managers that allow you to inform us of your updates and choices, including opting out of particular communications. These contact options are typically available on our Sites or in the emails or texts we send, but you may always email Privacy@VIVUS.com for assistance if you have any difficulty finding these tools or otherwise updating your data or preferences. Please remember that limited communications may be necessary in order to complete your transaction or for you to participate in a particular program or service.
Individual Rights
If you would like to request to review, correct, or update personal data that you have provided to us, you may contact us as indicated in the Contact Us section. We will respond to your request consistent with applicable law. Please note that we may need to retain certain personal data for recordkeeping purposes and/or to complete any transactions that you began prior to requesting a change or deletion.
Retention Period
We will retain your personal data for as long as needed or permitted in light of the purpose(s) for which it was obtained and as outlined in this Privacy Policy. The criteria used to determine our retention periods include: (i) the length of time we have an ongoing relationship with you and provide the Site to you; (ii) whether there is a legal obligation to which we are subject; or (iii) whether retention is advisable in light of our legal position (such as in regard to the enforcement of the Site Terms of Use, applicable statutes of limitations, litigation or regulatory investigations).
Cross Border Transfers
The Site is controlled and operated by us from the United States and is not intended to subject us to the laws or jurisdiction of any state, country or territory other than that of the United States. Any information you provide to VIVUS through use of the Site may be stored and processed, transferred between and accessed from the United States and other countries which may not guarantee the same level of protection of personal data as the one in which you reside. However, VIVUS will handle your personal data in accordance with this Privacy Policy regardless of where your personal data is stored/accessed.
Children’s Privacy
The Site is not directed to individuals under the age of thirteen (13), and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children under the age of 13.
Contact Us
The company responsible for collection, use and disclosure of your personal data under this Privacy Policy is VIVUS Inc.
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, or if you would like to request to exercise any individual rights, please contact us by emailing Privacy@VIVUS.com or write to the following address:
VIVUS, Inc.
Attn: Privacy
900 E. Hamilton Ave.
Suite 550
Campbell, CA 95008
Updates to our Privacy Policy
From time to time, we may update this Privacy Policy. Any changes will be effective when we post the revised Privacy Policy. This Privacy Policy was last updated as of the effective date listed above. If the Privacy Policy changes in a way that significantly affects how we handle personal data, we will not use the personal data we previously gathered in the manner described in the new policy without providing notice and/or obtaining your consent, as appropriate. Minor changes to the policy may occur that will not significantly affect our use of personal data without notice or consent. We encourage you to periodically review this page for the latest information on our privacy practices.