Pharma Industry News Update: 5 January 2016
2015 Was Another Good Year for Orphan Drugs Also Pretty Good for Pharma Marketers 
FDA approved 45 new drugs in 2015, four more than in 2014 and the highest number since 1996. Twenty-on1 (21) of those (47%) were “orphan” drugs. This compares to 17 orphan drugs approved in 2014 or 41% of the total
Pharma marketers also have good news regarding FDA marketing enforcement actions in 2015.
Read more about that here.
FDA’s 2015 Enforcement Actions A Deeper Look
Of the 9 letters FDA’s Office of Prescription Drug Promotion (OPDP) sent in 2015 to drug companies regarding marketing violations, two were serious “Warning Letters” and seven were “Untitled Letters.”
Two Canadian pharmaceutical companies got the Warning Letters. One letter went to Duchesnay for the promotion of Diclegis via Instagram. FDA cited two violations: (1) Omission of Risk Information and (2) Omission of Material Fact (the post failed to provide material information regarding DICLEGIS’ full approved indication, including important limitations of use).
The other Warning Letter went to a Valeant subsidiary for the promotion of Tussicaps. FDA cited three violations: (1) Omission of Risk Information, (2) Inadequate Communication of Indication, and (3) Unsubstantiated Claims.
Deeper analysis reveals which violations reigned supreme.
More here.
Drug Ad Celebrities Pharma Social Media Security for Aging Actors, Athletes, Politicians, & Chefs
Enjoy this collection of drug ads that feature celebrity spokespeople including Monica Seles, Bob Dole, Kevin Nealon, Ty Pennington, etc. Pharmaguy has added his personal comments and links to more information about the ads. Break a leg!
View/download the presentation on SlideShare.
2016 New Year’s Resolutions for Pharma Will 2016 Be Better Than 2015?
2015 is coming to an end, thankfully. It’s not been an especially good year considering that the media and politicians have found a face for evil pharma and rising drug prices: Martin Shkreli!
Shkreli’s recent arrest will only heighten pharma’s bad press as some people wonder why more pharma CEOs have not been arrested.
Shkreli has had his 15 minutes of fame. Let’s look ahead to 2016 for mainstream pharma’s 15 minutes of fame and what Pharmaguy recommends as New Year’s Resolutions for the drug industry and especially pharmaceutical marketers. If you’re interested in how well his 2015 resolutions fared, go here.
VOTE for “Miss Viagra 2015” 
Vote here.
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Use of Paid Celebrities by Pharma
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