2011

Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) pharmaceutical advertising spending suffered a 'double dip' recession between 2007 and 2010, according to data presented in the AdAge Insights Whitepaper

Welcome to Volume 10, Issue #3 (17 FEBRUARY 2011) of Pharma Marketing News.

The long-awaited social media guidance from the FDA -- whenever it arrives -- may turn out to be nothing more than a stamp of approval on activities in which the industry is currently engaged. Practically every issue that FDA guidance is expected to address has already been handled independently by a few pioneering pharmaceutical companies. Rather than waiting for FDA's anti climatic guidelines, Pharmaguy decided to publish The Pharmaguy Social Media Timeline™ now, at a time when the industry already has set precedents in every social media application.

David Epstein, head of Novartis Pharmaceuticals, said eighty percent of his company's sales reps will give up their PCs for iPads in 2012. Will they do it?

The authors of a physician survey published in the November 8, 2010, issue of Archives of Internal Medicine conclude 'given that 83.8% of physicians have PIRs, it is clear that industry still has substantial financial links with the nation's physicians. These findings support the ongoing need for a national system of disclosure of PIRs [Physician-Drug Industry Relationships].' Such a system is part of the Physician Sunshine Law, which is scheduled to go into effect in 2012 with public disclosure of payments scheduled to begin September, 2013.

Despite dire predictions of 'PR failure,' the #rxsave Twitter chat hosted by @AstraZenecaUS on 15 February 2011 was a great success, which is pharma social media speak for 'did not crash and burn.' It was proof that a pharmaceutical company can indeed host meaningful Twitter chats.

The year 2010 was all about me. By 'me' I mean Pharmaguy, which is the Twitter handle and Facebook name of John Mack, Editor and Publisher of Pharma Marketing News. It's all about YOU too! This is where you can 'sign' the 2010 Pharma Marketing Yearbook and and document that you were part of it all.

How much money the pharmaceutical industry spends on Internet marketing, direct-to-consumer advertising, and physician detailing are always topics of interest and 2010 was no exception. 2010 was, however, a turning point in bringing more attention to payments made to physicians for speaking, consulting, and research.

Is Your Brand a Digital Genius or a Feeble-Minded Idiot? When it comes to digital IQ, some brands are geniuses and some are feeble-minded idiots, according to the 'L2 Digital IQ Index' for pharmaceutical brands, a first-of-its kind measurement of the digital competence of 51 pharma brands across eight therapeutic categories.

Welcome to Volume 10, Issue #4 (23 FEBRUARY 2011) of Pharma Marketing News.