June 2006 Issue of MMM

Editor's Desk

All this talk of brands...

Here is the news: Big, bad television and the untrustworthy Internet are driving droves of patients to their doctors to request specific drugs by name.

Features

The DTP Report: Patients and Understanding

With the direct-to-patient movement well underway, pharmaceutical marketers are getting savvier at striking a chord with their patients in the quest for compliance.

Attention Grabbers

The once-exploding ADHD market has been tempered of late. And as drug firms continue to battle bad press and tough regulations, a pipeline challenge looms: ...

How Will Patients Behave?

A study of consumer preferences for seeking and using information

Bloggers' Banquet

Blogs are legion. Pharmaceuticals are a favorite topic of many, and a few are highly influential with patients and the press. How should companies engage ...

Thinking Outside the Lab

For marketers, talking with colleagues in R&D is key to optimal product positioning and in-sync messaging. Marc Iskowitz looks at how early collaboration between the ...

Headliner: Genentech's Bill Anderson

Genentech's Bill Anderson says he has always felt a drive to make a difference in people's lives.

Med Ed Report

MECCs stricter with rules than schools

New data support something medical education companies have long contended: They are more compliant with requirements for commercial support and less likely to be on ...

Cardinal med ed on block

Cardinal Health is offering its medical-education business for sale as part of a plan to divest its Healthcare Marketing Services (HMS) division.

Dorland names medical director

Lori Bainbridge has joined inRx Medical Education as director of medical education, a new position.

Wolters Kluwer Health separates units into subsidiary company

Wolters Kluwer Health has separated its continuing medical and pharmacy education unit into a subsidiary company.

Harvard Medical School to provide content for Pri-med

M|C Communications says Harvard Medical School will provide content for Pri-Med Patient Education Center, a venture introducing multimedia education systems into physicians' waiting rooms.

Mariani joins Interlink as medical director

Interlink Healthcare Communications, a unit of Lowe Healthcare Worldwide, has hired Sara Mariani, MD, PhD, as medical director.

Professional Media

About.com taps WebMD for health exec

About.com upped the ante on its health offering, bringing on Marjorie Martin from archrival WebMD to head About Health (health.about.com).

Postgrad Medicine returns, bimonthly

The Vendome Group is relaunching Postgraduate Medicine as a beefed-up bimonthly and reintroducing the title's CME program.

Nature Clinical Practice partners with others

Nature Clinical Practice has partnered with the American College of Gastroenterology and the World Heart Federation.

Medline journal adds to its editorial team

Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics, a Medline journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, named Satish K. Garg, MD, editor in chief.

Day promoted to SVP, professional division

Dowden Health Media has named Jennifer J. Day SVP, professional division.

Media Forum

What's behind online ad spend drop?

TNS numbers indicated a slight decline in pharmaceutical online advertising for 2005. Does this indicate a downswing in overall online spending, or a shift to ...

E-marketing

Web Watch

Online ad sales have become a fairly good barometer of how the Internet is doing as an industry.

Survey: physicians spend more time online for work

Doctors are spending more time online, with more of their Internet activities devoted to professional endeavors, according to the results of a new survey conducted ...

One to One names life sciences head

Digital marketing firm One to One Interactive has named Gayatri Bhalla group director of its life sciences division.

Direct Marketing

Sales reps says PhRMA rules hurt them

Most pharmaceutical sales reps believe PhRMA's Code on Interactions with Healthcare Professionals is negatively impacting their jobs, according to a recent study by market research ...

USPS eyes rate increases

The US Postal Service last month filed for an average 8.5% postal rate increase.

AstraZeneca, Biovail enter into agreement for Zoladex

AstraZeneca and Biovail have entered into an agreement in which Biovail's specialty sales force will promote AstraZeneca's Zoladex (goserelin acetate implant) to obstetricians and gynecologists ...

Healthpoint names new VP of sales

Healthpoint has named Jay Speelhoffer VP of sales for the pharmaceutical company's tissue management division.

Xchange makes three new hires, one promotion

Xchange, the relationship-marketing unit of CommonHealth, has made three new hires and a promotion.

DTC Report

Bitter Pill Awards bash DTC 'offenders'

Consumer group Community Catalyst announced its second annual Bitter Pill Awards, skewering the makers of Ambien, Lunesta and Strattera, among others, for what it deems ...

LLNS names DTC diva Devereux CEO

LLNS and TBWA Worldhealth named Anne Devereux CEO.

PhRMA names four members of its review panel on DTC

PhRMA named four members of its Guiding Principles independent review panel on DTC.

Sally Field will be the face of awareness campaign

Sally Field will be the face of an osteoporosis awareness campaign aimed at boomer women over 50 by Boniva makers Roche and GSK.

AstraZeneca won't advertise its new indication

AstraZeneca will not run TV or print ads for its recently approved pediatric indication on Nexium.

Public Relations

PR View by Ilyssa Levins

Why should marketers allocate more help-seeking DTC spending to PR?

Doak takes skin cancer prevention on the road

Bradley Pharmaceuticals' Doak Dermatologics division launched its Skin Cancer Screening Tour, a corporate campaign featuring a 38-foot "Mobile Diagnosis Vehicle" popping up at sun-drenched events ...