Vol. 4, No. 5: May 2005 – PREVIEW The following are summaries of articles planned for the upcoming May 2005 issue of Pharma Marketing News. Article Summaries A Proposal for a Drug Risk Advisory System
By John Mack Recently the FDA published guidelines for a Drug Watch program to provide emerging drug safety information to the public. While it is laudable that the FDA intends to make this kind of information available on its web site, the public may not be aware that a drug has been added to the list unless they proactively visit the web site. It is essential that the information from the FDA about drug risks and side effects get out to consumers as quickly as possible and that the risks are communicated effectively. Taking a page from the Homeland Security Advisory system, the author proposes a color-coded system for notifying the public about drug risks and links the levels of risk with levels of restrictions on DTC advertising. Full text coming soon…
Watch for the May issue in your e-mail inbox on or about 23 May 2005.
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Thought-Leader Management: A Challenge Met
By John Mack
Pharmaceutical companies are continually working to establish and maintain relationships with thought leaders — influential physicians who play an important role in communicating a new therapy’s benefits for other physicians. Thought Leaders — also known as Key Opinion Leaders, or KOLs — help pharmaceutical companies identify unmet medical needs, shape clinical studies, launch products and understand critical lifecycle issues. However, across the medical device and pharmaceutical industries, thought leader management programs have not been as effective as internal management would like, particularly in the age of the Internet, when the dissemination of information should be easier than ever, according to John Estafanous, President of Bethesda, Maryland-based Estco Medical. This article reviews Web-based Medigent(R) Thought Leader, a software solution for managing KOLs. Full text coming soon…
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Marketing in the Post-Vioxx Era: Quality vs. Quantity
By John Mack
At a recent Pharmaceutical Executive (PE) Annual Marketing Summit in Philadelphia, a panel of experts moderated by Patrick Clinton, Editor-in-Chief of PE Magazine, discussed pharmaceutical marketing in the “post-Vioxx” Era. The panel, titled “The Post-Vioxx Era: Shedding New Light on Drug Safety, Risk Communications, and Advertising,” examined shortcomings in the current regulatory system and discussed opportunities for improvement. This article summarizes the discussion. Topics include:
- What can the industry learn from the experience and how can we respond?
- Does DTC advertising drive unnecessary drug use? If so, what are the implications for DTC advertising?
- How can we accommodate products with complex safety profiles?
- Can we inoculate products against this type of response?
- Is the problem drug safety, risk communications, doctor/patient education, the effects of advertising-or all of these?
Full text coming soon…
Watch for the May issue in your e-mail inbox on or about 23 May 2005.
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Return on CME: Are Pharma Companies Getting Desired Outcomes?
By Lisa S. Berger
Measuring the outcomes of medical education is increasingly important in Continuing Medical Education (CME) and cannot be ignored by the CME provider or industry sponsor. The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) requires the provider to evaluate the effectiveness of its CME activities in meeting identified educational needs. In addition, measuring the effectiveness of a particular program is crucial to matching the right program to participant needs and to future program design for the provider, and evaluating the money spent for the sponsor. This article summarizes a presentation by Sharyn Lee, CEO and cofounder of Medical Educational Broadcast Network (MEBN), a medical education communications and publishing company, who spoke on outcomes-based CME and the importance of selecting the best assessment tool at a recent Medical Education Congress. Full text coming soon…
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Is Pharma Marketing a Lot of BS?
By John Mack
After watching a “60 Minutes” show that featured a story on a book titled “On Bullshit,” I just had to go out and get the last copy in my local bookstore, especially since the commentary also noted some of the notorious sources of bullshit, including marketing. The book, which is a bit tongue-in-cheek, is written by a Princeton University professor of philosophy and is only 67 pages long. The author, who is well-known in academic philosophy circles but probably unknown to you, makes a distinction between liars and bullshitters. In which category are marketers? What are some noteworthy examples of pharmaceutical marketing bullshit? How does marketing bullshit hurt the industry? Note that Seth Godin, author of the book “Permission Marketing : Turning Strangers Into Friends And Friends Into Customers,” which was previously reviewed in PMN, has penned a new book called “All Marketers are Liars.” This book is scheduled for release on May 23, 2005. According to one reviewer, “this is a book about doing what consumers demand — painting vivid pictures that they choose to believe.” Sounds like bullshit to me! Full text coming soon…
Watch for the May issue in your e-mail inbox on or about 23 May 2005.
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