Health insurer UnitedHealth Group has entered the electronic health record (EHR) space with myoptumhealth.com, an ad-supported web portal providing consumers with resources and tools geared toward managing personal health.

Consumer advertising "was the single worst decision for the industry," Roche Pharmaceuticals CEO William Burns said at a conference in London.

Johnson & Johnson is buying Mentor Corp., a Santa Barbara, CA-based aesthetics specialist best known for its MemoryGel silicone gel breast implants, for $1.07 billion.

The FDA is weighing requiring DTC TV ads to carry a toll-free number for adverse events reports and is surveying 1,600 consumers to find out what they think, AP reported.

Supporters of Rep. John Dingell (D-MI), arguably the leading critic of consumer advertising in Congress, are pushing him to head a powerful health subcommittee, The Hill has reported.

One of medical advertising's oldest shops - KPR, founded in 1962 - will cease to operate as an independent agency, having lost most of its business in the Johnson & Johnson advertising consolidation.

The Center for Communication Compliance (CCC) has launched new certification programs for healthcare advertising and promotional medical education professionals.

AstraZeneca (AZ) announced plans to cut an additional 1,400 jobs - on top of the previously announced 7,600 - as the company deals with impending generic competition.

Spending on direct-to-consumer launch campaigns fell significantly this year as companies waited longer to market fewer new drugs with more limited indications, said a TNS Media Intelligence report.

Physician interest in customer service portals like Merck Services and Pfizer PRO is on the increase -- even though actual use decreased between 2007 and 2008.