Big Pharma Going Out To Pasture
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About time. I cannot tell you how tired I get of all of the silly Pharmaceutical ads showing up in various paid search venues. It just really bothered me as it felt like we were bombarded with junk ads.
According to this however, it appears that changes are in the works. but perhaps the question needs to be whether or not this is enough? While I am not looking to over-regulate anything, I do think that in many regards, the Pharma industry has it entirely too easy with advertising.
Are some of these companies merely feeding on fear? Guess that depends on who you are asking. As far as I am concerned, this sort of thing should be taking place between a doctor and a patient. I see no benefit to the consumer in allowing ads for anything drug based. But maybe there are exceptions here.
One Comment
Jason Burke
October 9th, 2009
at 6:36am
Hey Matt,
Working in the industry, I’ve been watching this story as well, and it is interesting to note some unique aspects. Pretty much everyone I know is tired of being bombed by drug advertisements — TV, online, wherever. Yet pharmaceutical advertising is one of the most regulated advertising areas you can find anywhere in the world. You ever notice how every ad includes a long list of bad things that could potentially happen to you if you take the drug? Its required. Car manufacturers don’t have to warn you about accidents, and computer makers don’t have to discuss the dangers of operating an electrical appliance or exploding batteries. Similarly, most consumer products can make just about any claim in advertising they want (its the best in the world, collectors item, etc.), yet drug manufacturers are often prevented from even saying what disease the drug is supposed to treat.
My points are this:
1. We would likely experience less advertising if the industry were not so regulated because companies would not be forced to compete solely on brand recognition. As it is, they have to get consumers to the point of asking about brand x in order to get the benefits — difficult to do when the consumer is neither the decision maker (the doctor is) nor the payer (the insurance company is).
2. Your point about this being a discussion between doctor and patient I think is right on. It is interesting to note that surveys of American doctors have repeated shown that physicians learn of new treatments through pharmaceutical sales reps, advertising, and patients. So even though decisions arent based on advertising, the reality is both physicians and patients can benefit from some advertising (but not tons of it).
Keep up the great work!
-Jason