Vol. 11, Issue No. 5: 31 MAY 2012 – EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 
Welcome to Volume 11, Issue No. 5 (31 May 2012) of Pharma Marketing News. Thank you for visiting. See the featured article summaries below.
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John Mack, Publisher & Editor
editor@news.pharma-mkting.com
@pharmaguy Exploring the 2.0 Doctor-Patient Relationship The Impact of New Technologies on Healthcare
During the few months leading up to the second Doctors 2.0 & You conference in May 2012, Pharma Marketing News and Basil Strategies — the conference organizer — co-sponsored the “Technology Impact on Healthcare” online survey. This article summarizes the survey results.
The survey asked respondents to rate the importance internet tools and services in improving healthcare today and five years from now. Respondents also were asked to evaluate the impact of new technologies on public health problems such as obesity, vaccination, and smoking and which areas of the world are most active in developing and using health-related social media, mobile apps, and online communities. Finally, respondents were asked to identify which stakeholders — government, technology companies, health-care professionals, patients, payors — will be the major players online in 5 years.
Topics include:
- How would you rate the importance of internet tools and services in improving healthcare?
- Online Physician Communities Hold Promise, But Do They Deliver?
- As of today, what has been the impact of the web on healthcare?
- What the Future Holds
Download full article (PDF) Pfizer Throws In the Lipitor Marketing Towel Crestor’s Opportunistic Cheap Shot
Despite Pfizer’s heroic and unprecedented effort to maintain Lipitor’s market share after expiry last November and after spending more than $87 million promoting the medicine, the world’s biggest drug company is quietly giving up on its once-great cash cow for good because more generic versions will soon be going on sale.
Meanwhile, AstraZeneca promoted Crestor on its corporate blog. It’s unusual for a pharmaceutical company to mention a product by brand name on its corporate blog. It’s even more unusual to mention BOTH the product AND its indication — because that would be promotion regulated by the FDA. But AstraZeneca has done just that on its ‘AZ Health Connections’ corporate blog. Why now? Can it be a purely opportunistic cheap shot?
Read more about this here:
http://ec2-54-175-84-28.compute-1.amazonaws.com/pharma-mkting.com/news/pmn115-article02.htm
Pharma Responds to FDA’s Draft DTC Guidelines 
FDA has received several comments from the pharmaceutical industry regarding the agency’s “Draft Guidance for Industry Direct-to-Consumer Television Advertisements.”
This article reviews the comments submitted by PhRMA, Sanofi, and Shire. Comments from other pharma companies addressed similar issues to the ones reviewed here.
Sections included:
- PhRMA Demands that FDA “Cabin” Its Discretion to Regulate DTC Ads
- Sanofi Says Proposed FDA DTC Guidelines Would Effectively Kill TV Drug Ads
- Shire Seeks to Maintain YouTube “Loophole” in FDA’s Draft Guidelines for TV Ads
Read the details here:
http://ec2-54-175-84-28.compute-1.amazonaws.com/pharma-mkting.com/news/pmn115-article03.htm
The Evolving Pharma-Physician Relationship New Power Players & New Technology Force Changes
Dorothy Wetzel, the Founding Partner and Chief Extrovert at extrovertic, offers her top 3 takeaways about what pharma marketers should be doing differently in the future based on presentations made at the PharmaMarketing Summit 2012 in Chicago.
In addition, John Mack summarized the presentation made by Dr. Frank Spinelli, a physician currently in private practice and formerly the Clinical Director of HIV Services at New York’s Cabrini Medical Center.
The common thread throughout is the evolving nature of the pharma-physician relationship, which is being transformed by the power of patients and payers, particularly aided and abetted by new emerging technologies.
Topics include:
- The New Power Players
- Engage or be seen as indifferent
- Pharma’s Social Media Journey
- Despite FDA Inaction, We Know What to Do
- Prepare for the “unexpected inevitable”
- Emerging Technologies and the Future of the Pharma/HCP Relationship
- Impact of PhRMA Code
- Technologies That Can Facilitate the Pharma-HCP Relationship
- Social Media Opportunities
- The Digital Care Kit: Prescriptions Include Apps
- So What About the Pharma Sales Rep?
Download full article (PDF)
