San Mateo, CA-based Epocrates announced that hundreds of thousands of healthcare professionals and consumers, including more than 50,000 US physicians, have downloaded its drug and formulary reference application to an Apple iPhone or iPod Touch device in only four months.

In a strategic partnership with inVentiv, Merck announced that it will utilize inVentiv's contract sales staff to supplement Merck's in-house sales force.

A study published in the October 2008 edition of the journal Pediatrics concluded that poor and uninsured children are not the main recipients of free drug samples and that free samples do not target the neediest of children selectively.

In anticipation of the new PhRMA guidelines that go into effect in January 2009, drug companies are scrambling to find innovative ways to deliver pharma code compliant merchandise to doctors.

With its acquisition of Sciele Pharma, Osaka, Japan-based Shionogi & Co. will gain immediate entry into the US pharmaceutical market and inherit 720 seasoned sales reps.

Two diabetes product sites, Merck's Januvia and Takeda's Actos, came in first and second, respectively, in a new study measuring physicians' web habits.

Finding new and innovative ways to communicate valuable information to healthcare professionals is an ongoing challenge for pharma companies.

inVentiv Health has acquired Patient Marketing Group (PMG), a pharmaceutical marketing services firm specializing in patient relationship marketing.

SDI has launched the Physician Practice Profiling (P3) Report, a patient-level data analytics tool.

Robinson Radio—an agency specializing in direct response radio—has launched Robinson Radio Networks (RNN), an advertising firm dedicated to developing, producing and placing long-form radio programming.