{"id":8043,"date":"2005-07-25T14:44:00","date_gmt":"2005-07-25T14:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pharma-mkting.com\/mckinnells-mea-non-culpa\/"},"modified":"2019-02-21T01:28:32","modified_gmt":"2019-02-21T01:28:32","slug":"mckinnells-mea-non-culpa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ec2-54-175-84-28.compute-1.amazonaws.com\/pharma-mkting.com\/blog\/mckinnells-mea-non-culpa\/","title":{"rendered":"McKinnell’s Mea Non Culpa"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you buy the book “A Call to Action” by Pfizer’s CEO, Dr. Hank McKinnell, with the notion that you will learn what this pharma executive believes the industry should do to reform itself, you are in for a big surprise. Notwithstanding an Amazon.com review of the book written by Peter Rost \u2013 Pfizer\u2019s whistleblowing, soon-to-be non-head of Pfizer’s endocrine care marketing unit and \u201cPharma\u2019s Black Knight\u201d \u2013 in which McKinnell is described as making \u201can impressive mea culpa,\u201d this book is actually a mea non culpa!<\/p>\n

I had reason to expect to see suggestions for changes in the way pharma operates because at the very beginning of the book (page 13), McKinnell said that \u201cif Pfizer wanted a seat at the table where important healthcare solutions were being hammered out, we had to earn it by acting differently, partnering differently, and communicating differently.\u201d Unfortunately, the rest of the book does NOT carry through on this theme and focuses instead on how consumers, society, employers, managed care, and government need to act differently.<\/p>\n

Before getting to the action items, McKinnell tries to answer the most important questions put to the industry by critics and the public. These questions are:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Why are Prescription Medicines So Expensive?
\u2022 Why Does the Industry Do So Much Advertising?
\u2022 Why Do Americans Pay More Than Canadians for Drugs?<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, McKinnell sticks to the standard pharma industry playbook except on one or two occasions where he seems to offer contrary opinions.<\/p>\n

Why are Prescription medicines So Expensive?<\/strong>
It turns out, according to McKinell, that drugs are not as expensive as you think (silly you!) and that branded drugs are cheaper than the alternative \u2013 the old \u201can ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure\u201d defense.<\/p>\n

In essence, his argument is, drugs are not as expensive as you think, cheaper alternatives are soon available, and drug profits are good and well deserved.<\/p>\n

I should acknowledge at least one refreshingly contrary view expressed by McKinnell: an admission that it is a \u201cfallacy to suggest that our industry\u2026prices a product to recapture the R&D budget spent in development.\u201d He suggests instead that it is \u201cinvestors\u2019 confidence in the risk and rewards\u201d that drives prices.<\/p>\n

McKinnell takes exception to critics such as Senator Bill Frist who claim that \u201cincreased direct-to-consumer advertising has helped fuel escalating drug costs\u201d (See “Deconstructing Frist on DTC<\/a>“). McKinell, like PhRMA, insists that \u201cstudies show there\u2019s no correlation between prices or price increases and DTC advertising.\u201d<\/p>\n

McKinnell cites a study done in 2001 by The National Institute for Health Care Management entitled \u201cPrescription Drug Expenditures in 2000: The Upward Trend Continues.\u201d McKinnell claims that this study shows that the \u201caverage price of drugs that are advertised is lower than those that aren\u2019t.\u201d The report, however, concludes that the increase in prescription drug spending is due, in part, to \u201cmore aggressive marketing of prescription drugs to both doctors and consumers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why Does the Industry Do So Much Advertising?<\/strong>
McKinnell wants us to believe that DTC advertising is really education (he prefers ro call it \u201cDTC education\u201d). This is not a new mantra. Johnson & Johnson Chief Executive William Weldon, for example, said in an address to PhRMA: “Our communication with patients should really be thought of as Direct to Consumer Education\u201d (see \u201cDTC Straight Talk<\/a>\u201d).<\/p>\n

Why Do Americans Pay More Than Canadians for Drugs?<\/strong>
To be honest, I didn\u2019t read this chapter. According to Peter Rost, \u201cMcKinnell \u2026 admits that drugs from Canadian pharmacies are safe \u2026[and] that \u2018perhaps pharmaceuticals represent too low a percentage of total healthcare spending\u2019 and he calls for \u2018price controls to be lifted\u2019 around the world, because \u201cIt is time for Canadians and others to pay their fair share.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Call to Action Starts Here<\/strong>
Chapter 13 is the chocolate nugget of the book. In this chapter McKinnell lists 10 actions that he believes should be taken to reform the healthcare system in the U.S. Only one action on the list, Reform Direct-to-Consumer Advertising, is an action item for the drug industry. All the others are the responsibility of individuals, society, employers, managed care, and governments, not the pharmaceutical industry. Coincidentally, at least six actions would either benefit the pharmaceutical industry in general or highlight specific Pfizer initiatives. Rather than focus on these \u2013 you can read more about it in the Summer 2005 issue of Pharma Marketing News <\/a>\u2013 I\u2019d like to focus on Mickinnell\u2019s suggestions for reforming DTC.<\/p>\n

Reform Direct-to-Consumer Advertising
<\/strong>This is the one action item mentioned in the book that applies directly to the pharmaceutical industry and can be said to require a change in the way it does business. Here\u2019s what McKinnel recommends for DTC:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Improve communications about risk
\u2022 Provide information about alternative therapies available, including therapies that do not require a medicine
\u2022 Promote prevention and wellness, compliance with treatment regimens, and disease awareness
\u2022 Promote access to medicines and do a better job communicating about patient assistance programs
\u2022 Implement external oversight of DTC, including working with the FDA to get their views on advertisements before they are run<\/p>\n

Mckinnell\u2019s action plan for DTC reform, however, does not go as far as some other emerging principles do. He does not suggest, for example, a 1-year moratorium on DTC for news drugs or to limit TV ads to the appropriate audience at the appropriate time of day (something that Congress may impose on ED ads). Both of these principles have been adopted by Bristol-Myers Squibb in its Direct-to-Consumer Communications Code. It should be noted, however, that McKinnell has said in another venue \u201cNo erectile dysfunction drug ads on television except for 10 pm to 6 am. I’m in favor of that.\u201d (Washingtonpost.com Viewpoint interview, 2004).<\/p>\n

Needless to say, this book is not going to shake up the pharmaceutical industry nor does it offer much new defense against critics of the industry. It often sounds like an advertorial for Pfizer\u2019s programs. A Pfizer spokesman referred a reporter to McKinnell’s book as the \u201cbest source\u201d for the company\u2019s perspective on advertising. I wouldn\u2019t recommend it, however, as the best source for an action plan to reform drug advertising in general. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you buy the book “A Call to Action” by Pfizer’s CEO, Dr. Hank McKinnell, with the notion that you will learn what this pharma executive believes the industry should do to reform itself, you are in for a big surprise. 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