Today, Pharmaguy officially announced his “new” position as Chief Pundit at Pharmaguy.com. Like many other innovators in the pharmaceutical industry, pharmaguy — working under the pseudonym “John Mack” — has toiled under a corporate overlord. In Pharmaguy’s case, that corporate entity was VirSci Corporation DBA Pharma Marketing Network, which owns and operates Pharma Marketing News.
“Finally, I am able to reveal my true identity and put some distance between myself and John Mack, President of Pharma Marketing Network and Publisher of Pharma Marketing News,” said Pharmaguy in an interview with John Mack (listen below).
John Mack: Welcome to Pharma Marketing Talk. Today’s guest is Pharmaguy, a pharma marketing pundit, the publisher of Pharma Marketing Blog & the Chief Pharmaguy at PharmaGuy.com. Hello, Pharmaguy. Welcome to Pharma Marketing Talk.
PharmaGuy: Thank you, John. It’s s pleasure to be here talking to you.
JM: You are here to make an important announcement, correct?
PG: Yes, John, I am. Today, I am officially announcing that I will be venturing on my own as an independent entity operating as Pharmaguy and pharmaguy.com.
JM: OK. For people out there who may not realize it, for the past five years or so, you were practically indistinguishable from me, John Mack, the owner of Pharma Marketing Network and publisher of Pharma Marketing News. What has changed?
PG: Yes, John. For the past five years you and I were joined at the hip as it were. Everywhere I went, I carried two business cards – one as John Mack, Publisher of Pharma Marketing News and one as Pharmaguy, Pundit. It was confusing. Sometimes people would confuse you for me at conferences and vice versa.
What has changed is that I am now able to assert myself independent of you because our long-term non-disclosure agreement has expired. Finally, I am able to reveal my true identity and put some distance between myself and John Mack; i.e., you.
JM: Yes, that’s true. Under our agreement, Pharma Marketing Network hosted several online forums, including Pharma Marketing Blog and even this show – Pharma Marketing Talk – for you to express your unique point of view. In return, you helped to promote Pharma Marketing News.
PG: Yes. Our relationship was a productive and synergetic one and I appreciate your support. However, I think I have outgrown the need for that support and will do as well – if not better – on my own. It may take a while for me to gain my footing and become completely independent, but it is worth the effort.
JM: Just what will you be doing “on your own?”
PG: Well, I still hope to work with you as a contributor to Pharma Marketing News because I believe it is an important vehicle that reaches thousands of subscribers and readers around the world. It is a very well-known and respected brand.
One other IMPORTANT activity I will be engaged in is speaking at live events, webinars, and Twitter chat session. I’ve already been a guest speaker at several pharmaceutical companies including Novartis, Bayer, Roche, and Celgene. Like you, I’ve also been speaking at industry conferences around the world. I hope to expand upon that and will have more details at a later date.
JM: That’s very interesting. I can’t wait to hear more.
PG: Meeting people and engaging with them in the real world is VERY important to me. As you know, I am also very involved in new media where I can engage in conversations with thousands of followers around the world on Twitter and other social media, including Pharma Marketing Blog, LinkedIn, Facebook, Tumblr, and – dare I admit it? – Google Plus! Also, I’d like to completely own Pharma Marketing Talk and make that a more social platform.
JM: Well, as you know Pharma Marketing Talk is a platform for other peoples’ opinions where I interview guests who …
PG: Yes, yes, I know. But I have been hosting the show for many months now and am comfortable continuing the tradition of focusing on showcasing interesting people who are doing interesting things in the pharmaceutical marketing arena. You and I will continue to work together to maintain the synergy between Pharma Marketing Talk and Pharma Marketing News. In particular, I welcome your advertisers as guests. You may also continue to use transcripts of the show to produce content for Pharma Marketing News.
JM: What about Twitter? I hope I can continue to contribute tweets to the Pharmaguy account so that your followers can get access to Pharma Marketing News articles and my sponsors’ messages.
PG: For sure! We know from experience that our audiences overlap in many ways, but some people prefer to use twitter to keep up to date with the industry, whereas others prefer to receive email updates alerting them of the in-depth information provided by Pharma Marketing News. Twitter is also a helpful reminder when email gets lost in your subscribers’ in boxes!
JM: Yes, that’s so true! Well, I think we just about covered everything. Do you have anything you’d like to add in closing?
PG: I just want to assure everyone that while you and I will not longer be joined at the hip, we are joined at the brain, meaning we share many opinions and are still good friends and business associates. I just have to be me!
JM: Very nicely put. I think that ends our show. Thank you Pharmaguy for being a guest and thanks to everyone for listening…
PG: Yes, thanks for listening. This is Pharmaguy saying goodbye until you hear from me next time!
