Category Archives: Marketing

Why the Delay on Facts Boxes?

By Ben Comer | Published: November 16, 2011
Despite a near-complete absence of criticism coming from industry, academia, clinicians and patients, the drug facts box – a concise, quantitative, easy-to-read format for presenting a drug’s risk/benefit profile in print advertisements – seems at least three years away from launch.
Also posted in Advertising, FDA, Legal, Regulatory, Strategy, patient education | Tagged | 1 Comment

Pfizer CEO: DTC a 'Fundamental Right'

By Ben Comer | Published: October 5, 2011
Direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising is a “fundamental right in the U.S.,” and denying the right of industry to speak directly to patients through drug advertising “leads to ignorance and the inability to judge,” said Ian Read, Pfizer’s president and CEO, at the Cleveland Clinic on Tuesday. Asked whether DTC ads on television should be retired, Read answered [...]
Also posted in Advertising, IP, Patient Communication, Regulatory, Strategy, leadership, patient education | Tagged , | 7 Comments

Value Isn't Just Dollars and Cents, says Pfizer Exec

By Ben Comer | Published: September 23, 2011
Now that 90% of the top 43 countries for drug sales have instituted “significant” cost containment measures, it’s more important than ever to give payers the rest of the story, according to a Pfizer executive.
Also posted in Europe, Global, Market Access, Patient Communication, Strategy, healthcare, pricing | Tagged | Leave a comment

PBMs to Super Committee: Take $100 Billion From Pharma

By Ben Comer | Published: September 7, 2011
A trade group representing the largest pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs) has proposed a way to trim $100 billion in government costs for prescription drugs over 10 years. To the pharmaceutical industry, that trim might look more like a beheading.
Also posted in Regulatory, Strategy, healthcare, leadership, pricing | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Without An Rx, Some Pharmas Are Skittish

By Ben Comer | Published: August 24, 2011
Lower margins and strong-arm direct-to-consumer campaigns are two of the primary barriers to selling nutraceuticals, according to a business school ‘war game’ conducted with the participation of Abbott, Danone (Dannon in the US), GSK and Nestlé. But the global nutraceuticals market – worth $80 billion in 2010, according to Frost & Sullivan – is expected [...]
Also posted in Advertising, Global, IP, Regulatory, Strategy, patient education | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments