February 2007 Issue of MMM - Medical Marketing and Media

Editor's Desk

Trust: mission possible?

Remember when President Bush pulled an iPod from his holster and fired off a few of rounds of his favorite digital tunes to a grateful ...

Features

Headliner: Anthony Hooper of Bristol-Myers Squibb

Anthony Hooper says being in charge of US marketing for Bristol-Myers Squibb is the best job in the world…and he should know.

Set Your Genius Free

The quest to win an MMM Award starts here with the launch of the 2007 program. As usual, your entries will be judged by the ...

Tried and Trusted

The notion that the industry is capable of turning around its negative public perception suddenly looks more realistic. Matthew Arnold reports on some encouraging results ...

Inside Out

The old adage that your most valuable assets are your employees has never been truer. Furnish them with all the facts and they will form ...

Gaining Street Cred

Many pharmas have taken a haughty tone with analysts and investors. The Street’s not taking it anymore. It’s time to crank up the humility and ...

Proving PR's Worth

An inability to consistently measure the effect of PR—and therefore demonstrate its value—has long been the Achilles heel of the communications exec looking for a ...

The Side Effects of Side Effects

The recent Institute of Medicine report pointed its institutional finger at the FDA over a variety of shortcomings surrounding drug safety post-marketing surveillance. Warren Ross ...

10 Steps to Product Positioning

Uniqueness is the Holy Grail for marketers. Unique attributes can transcend clichés, giving products widespread respect. It’s not always obvious what these traits might be, ...

Antidote

As a medical journalist, I receive advanced notice of many studies. As soon as I saw that the Journal of the American Medical Association was ...

Washington Insider

As I see it

The Democratic Congressional majority’s “first 100 hours” of unilateral legislative action before it goes bipartisan includes only one drug item—giving the government price negotiating authority ...

Admen: fixing DDMAC is more vital than user fees

The Coalition for Healthcare Communication says it’s too soon to talk about user fees to fund ad reviews through the FDA’s DDMAC. An agreement reportedly ...

People want drug industry oversight

US adults want information on and oversight of the drug industry, according to a recent Harris Poll.

White House fights Plan B subpoena

As the Bush White House vigorously resisted a Center for Reproductive Rights subpoena demanding internal documents that might show its involvement in the FDA’s review ...

FDA not utilizing its advisory system

Public Citizen says an analysis of FDA advisory committee meetings between January 1997 and last July found the agency is making suboptimum use of its ...

Rituxan deaths reported to FDA

The deaths of two women being treated with Genentech’s Rituxan (rituximab) for systemic lupus erythematosus have been reported to the FDA. The agency is working ...

FDA will enforce unapproved drugs with quinine

The FDA intends to take enforcement action against unapproved drug products containing quinine and persons who cause the manufacture of such products or their shipment ...

Labopharm seeking FDA dispute resolution

Labopharm says it is seeking formal FDA dispute resolution proceedings to counter an approvable letter from the agency requiring undisclosed additional work on its NDA ...

Generic form of Wellbutrin XL approved

The first US generic form of GlaxoSmithKline’s Wellbutrin XL has been approved by the FDA. Anchen Pharmaceuticals’ bupropion HCl extended-release tablets are available in 150 ...

FDA proposed rules revisions

The FDA has proposed rules revisions intended to expand the availability of experimental drugs, to decrease confusion over charging practices for those drugs and improve ...

Publicis acquires Digitas for $1.3B

In a move indicative of the shift toward digital promotion, Publicis Healthcare’s parent is buying Medical Broadcasting Company owner Digitas, Inc. for $1.3 billion.

Media Notepad

NEJM spiked conflicts op/ed, says WSJ

The New England Journal of Medicine pulled an article slamming the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) for its reliance on drug company donations, according to The ...

AMP names Fox to succeed Wilschek as president

The Association of Medical Publications named Ascend Media VP, medical group Linda Fox to succeed NEJM advertising head Art Wilschek as president for 2007. Fox ...

MediZine adds staff to its sales team

MediZine has added Eileen Bruno, Brooks Crandall and Jamie Blocher to its sales team. Bruno will serve as VP, sales and marketing for MDminute working ...

Longtime medical publisher dies

Longtime medical publisher Thomas Jones died Dec. 14 at the age of 81. Jones was the creator and original publisher of journals including Practical Diabetology, ...

Wiley launches bimonthly summary of medical research

Wiley is launching a bimonthly summary of medical research for hospitalists titled InfoPOEMs (Patient-Oriented Evidence that Matters) in conjunction with the Society for Hospital Medicine. ...

Media Forum

Search engines play significant role

Search data show that many of the most heavily searched brands online are not among the most-advertised. Search engine optimization (SEO) is a potent DTP ...

CME Report

Meetings barred from five-star hotels

International meeting planners may be chafing this month from a new rule barring pharmaceutical companies from supporting educational events at luxury venues. But in the ...

Roche hires med ed czar

Brian Russell, RPh, MBA, has been hired as director of medical education for Roche Laboratories—a new position—the company said.

GSK: story ‘unfair'

GlaxoSmithKline’s director of CME took exception with a Wall Street Journal report on GSK-funded med ed.

ACCME vows to answer inquiry by deadline

ACCME vowed to answer a new inquiry from the Senate Finance Committee by the Jan. 22 deadline. At press time, ACCME said it “looks forward” ...

Leist named Alliance for CME interim executive director

James Leist, EdD, has been named interim executive director of the Alliance for CME, taking over for Bruce Bellande, PhD. Leist, ACME coordinator for learning ...

American Society of Hypertension to host debate

The American Society of Hypertension will host a debate on conflicts of interest at its annual meeting, reports The Boston Globe. ASH had nixed the ...

Kues named new president of NC-CME

Jack Kues, PhD, head of CME, University of Cincinnati, is the new president of NC-CME. He takes over for Judy Ribble, PhD, former president, who ...

Saxton discusses classical program-planning theory gap

“[Med ed] Planners must learn how to balance stakeholder interests by applying democratic principles in negotiating educational, political, and program outcomes,” wrote Mike Saxton, Pfizer ...

E-marketing

Merck takes e-focused approach to marketing

Merck is embracing its approach to scale back DTC television advertising for new drugs in favor of a more targeted, e-focused approach.

New iVillage site offers ‘Dr. Mom' tools

NBC Universal’s iVillage Properties has launched a new consumer online health destination targeting women and their families.

Web Watch

The online health space is hotter than high school love right now. The people at WebMD must be looking over their shoulder.

Direct Marketing

Advair sales strategy shifting in 2007

GlaxoSmithKline is shifting its sales force strategy for therapy Advair to stress treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a new report stated.

Sales reps sue over unpaid overtime

Thousands of pharmaceutical sales reps have filed a series of class action lawsuit claims against their former employers seeking tens of millions of dollars in ...

New reps receive 184 hours training

Newly hired pharmaceutical sales reps can expect to receive an average of 184 training hours during their first year on the job, a recent study ...

Redi-Direct Marketing acquires Dialog Group

Redi-Direct Marketing has acquired NY-based Dialog Group, including the firm’s Healthcare Dialog division, a developer of relationship marketing and communication programs for the pharmaceutical industry.

Victory Pharma scores deal with Hi-Tech Pharmacal

Victory Pharma has inked a deal with Hi-Tech Pharmacal for exclusive US commercial license rights to its Naprelan (naproxen sodium) formulation for the treatment of ...

Pfizer sales force realignment leaves others evaluating size

Pfizer’s late 2006 sales force realignment has left the door open for other drug firms to re-evaluate their own resource levels.

Acorda Therapeutics completes sales foce expansion

Acorda Therapeutics has completed the expansion of its sales force to 65 people, with 52 area business managers, calling on specialists and primary care physicians.

DTC Report

FDA would up PDUFA for DTC reviews

The FDA says it needs 27 additional staff to review DTC TV ads, and projects related user fees of $6.2 million in 2008.

Drug firms boost DTC ad spend in '06

Led by the sleep aid category, drug firms upped consumer advertising by a healthy margin in 2006, data from advertising intelligence firms show.

Ciappenelli to replace Healey at Sepracor

Sepracor appointed Rob Ciappenelli to replace Tim Healey as head of its CNS portfolio, which includes the company’s Lunesta franchise, according to reports and sources ...

GAO says FDA is too lax on DTC ads policing

The Government Accountability Office ripped the FDA for lax policing of DTC advertising, saying the agency was slow to act on dubious drug ads due ...

More execs than docs think DTC ads provide complete info

A survey of 500 consumers, 150 physicians and industry officials by PricewaterhouseCooper found that only 10% of physicians and consumers think that DTC ads provides ...

Consumer Reports says patients ask for TV advertised drugs

A Consumer Reports survey of primary care physicians on DTC TV advertising found that 78% said they are asked by patients for specific drugs they’ve ...

Public Relations

Pfizer diabetes program improves health outcome

Pfizer Health Solutions is taking its diabetes patient education program Amigos en Salud/ Friends in Health national after a four-city pilot showed significant improvements in ...

Cushman buys HealthInfo Direct

Cushman Amberg Communications, an independent Chicago-based PR agency, acquired HealthInfo Direct, the Chicago healthcare direct marketing and PR firm. Terms of the deal were not ...

PR View by Julia Hood

Pharma companies are not the friendliest to the media. At PRWeek, we encountered an exception recently, when Bristol-Myers Squibb invited our new healthcare reporter on ...

In Focus

Rulings will impact future of drug patents

Two Supreme Court rulings handed down in January stand to drastically alter the way pharma companies enter into licensing agreements and impact the future strength ...

Back Talk

Transhuman or non-human?

Just what do you think you’re doing? That maternal admonition might well be addressed by Mother Nature to the geneticists and biochemists whose research promises ...