2011

One survey says yes, pharma reps are important to physicians, another says not so much. Who are we to believe?

Welcome to Volume 10, Issue #11 (21 JUNE 2011) of Pharma Marketing News.

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.

According to a Bad Ad Program 2010-2011 Year End Report just issued by the FDA, the program is a success despite the fact that ONLY 125 complaints were deemed worthy of

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.

Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority Issues Social Media Guidance for Pharma. The Brits have won the race to issue social media guidance for the drug industry! In April, 2011, the Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority (PMCPA), which oversees the self-regulatory code of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI), published 'informal guidance' providing the drug industry advice on how to use online communications.

Many critics of pharma-supported CME believe this support leads to bias. Between 9 May 2011 and 13 September 2011, readers of Pharma Marketing News were asked to answer a few short questions relating to potential bias in industry-supported CME programs and how to limit the need for industry funding of CME. The results are summarized in this article.

Welcome to Volume 10, Issue #12 (20 JULY 2011) of Pharma Marketing News.

A conversation with Preeti Pinto, Principal at Preeti Pinto Consulting, LLC and former Executive Director & Head of Promotional Regulatory Affairs at AstraZeneca US, about the use of comparative effectiveness and health outcomes data in the support of drug promotion to physicians, payers, and consumers.

Let's Look at Some Data PhRMA Doesn't Mention. PhRMA pointed out that nearly 9 out of 10 physicians considered company-sponsored peer education programs to be 'up-to-date, useful and reliable.'