2011

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?

This article summaries research data exploring why physicians interested in using online peer-to-peer social communities outnumber by 2 to 1 physicians who are actually using them. Includes suggestions for what these communities must do in order to provide more value to physicians.

If you're thinking of developing a mobile application (app) for patients or physicians, you need to consider the myriad platforms -- hardware plus software combinations -- that are out there and determine which platform is best suited for your intended audience. Your choice of platform will impact your app's performance, maintenance, and security, which in turn will make or break the success of the app.

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.

Welcome to Volume 10, Issue #9 (18 MAY 2011) of Pharma Marketing News.

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

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.

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

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.'

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.