March 2010 Issue of MMM

Editor's Desk

Where patients are a virtue

Just a few hours before a heavy blizzard almost brought last month's ePharma Summit to its knees, a man called Dave deBronkart, aka e-Patient Dave, ...

Features

Marketing Research Report: Data Crunch

Pharma companies and their partners are under pressure to evolve the marketing research function through new technology and fresh thinking

Specialty Pharmaceuticals: Shifting Specialties

New developments in specialty pharma are changing the way manufacturers, payers, docs and patients interact. Ben Comer looks at where things are headed

Physician-Patient Dialogue: Unscripted Scrutiny

Deep analysis of the provider-patient dialogue can give brand-name drugs an edge in the marketplace. Jeff Kozloff and David Franke looks at how this dialogue ...

Medical Advertising Hall of Fame Induction 2010

Hundreds of healthcare advertising and publishing leaders braved the storm and gathered at at New York's Pierre Hotel to honor the 2010 Medical Advertising Hall ...

Headliner: e-Patient Dave deBronkart

In January 2007 Dave deBronkart, aka e-Patient Dave, was diagnosed with stage IV kidney cancer that had spread throughout his body and given a median ...

Antidote

Antidote: Pompe Disease

The film Extraordinary Measures, just released, details the discovery of a replacement enzyme for the neuromuscular disorder Pompe disease.

In Focus

Pricing ire leaves pharmas vulnerable

It was activism that drew the world's attention to the HIV epidemic and to the need for ethical standards in AIDS-drug testing. And activism is ...

Professional Marketing

Novartis held the line on spend in '09

Novartis' US sales reorganization seems to have paid off in 2009 as the company held the line on sales and marketing expenses despite a passel ...

UK journal ad spins weight gain side effect for Seroquel

UK regulators vowed to investigate a medical journal ad for AstraZeneca's Seroquel that allegedly minimized weight gain data, a common side effect associated with atypical ...

Professional Marketing briefs

Featuring news about GlaxoSmithKline and Merck

Med Ed Report

ACCME reports industry shrinkage

In the last 12 months, 142 medical-education providers either lost their accreditation to offer CME or decided not to apply for renewal, said the ACCME ...

Study: no evidence of bias in commercial CME

An analysis of CME data by two Cleveland Clinic Foundation physicians found little evidence of perceived bias in CME activities.

Pri-Med name changes status

CME firm Pri-Med Institute has changed its name to pmiCME, a name which more clearly distinguishes it as an accredited provider, the company said last ...

Med Ed Report briefs

Featuring news about Cephalon, the AMA and the ACCME

Professional Media

Healthy Advice places LCDs in doctors' offices

Healthy Advice Networks is betting doctors need one more video screen to look at during office hours.

Sermo exits financial services

Sermo has nixed its financial services offering, cutting headcount sharply as a result, and is doubling down on its pharma business.

Professional Media briefs

Featuring news about Nature Publishing, Slack Inc. and Elsevier

Media Forum

Tackling the journal advertising challenge

Integrating journal ads into a media schedule was a challenge before professional media entered a period of contraction. With ad budgets shrinking and use of ...

Digital Media

WOMMA offers disclosure guidelines

Social media marketers should make it easy for consumers to consider the source when products are being discussed, according to new disclosure guidelines from the ...

Pfizer, Keas in deal for online care plan provision

Pfizer said it will partner with Keas, a developer of online health organizers, to "enable health and wellness experts to author, sell and distribute personalized ...

Digital Media briefs

Featuring news about Everyday Health, WebMD, Medscape, Ascend Integrated Media, Mobilco, comScore and ARSgroup

Consumer Marketing

DDR on DTC: Lexiva

Having been born in 1997, DTC advertising is now officially a "teenager." And just like any teen, it has its moments of rebellion (getting ready ...

AstraZeneca answers Prevacid with Nexium spots

AstraZeneca is answering OTC Prevacid with ads touting Nexium's nighttime benefits.

Boehringer effort targets sports fans

Boehringer Ingelheim is sponsoring a star-studded COPD awareness effort with NASCAR, the American Lung Association and the COPD Foundation.

Medtronic launches leonine pump effort

Medtronic launched a video contest aimed at diabetic kids, who use an insulin pump, and their parents.

Online health videos take off

If there was any doubt, online health video has officially arrived as a means of reaching consumers.

Consumer Marketing Briefs

Featuring news about GlaxoSmithKline, Lundbeck, National Organization for Rare Disorders, Campaign magazine and Pfizer

Marketing Research

Vantage Point: new era of marketing research

For years, healthcare marketing research has begun with a proposal and ended with a final report containing "conclusions" and "recommendations."

Pharma MR gains hold in frosty Minnesota

The Minnesota pharmacy board maintained that it's legal to pay doctors to answer bona fide marketing surveys, but legislation being debated may keep the state ...

Agency Business

Omnicom, WPP win in Bayer agency consolidation

Bayer announced that it will split global advertising duties between Omnicom and WPP, a consolidation process set to be completed over the next two years.

Medical advertising shops raise $100K for Haiti relief

The compassion and goodwill of the medical advertising agency community has turned what started as a single donation to the Haitian earthquake relief effort into ...

Agency Business briefs

Featuring news about GCI Health, Roska Healthcare Advertising, Heartbeat Digital and Draftfcb Healthcare

Washington Insider

As I see it: podium policy

"Podium policy" (when regulators give speeches or interviews that announce new regulatory expectations) is never a good idea.

Obama's second budget for FDA sets another record

A week after promising non-military government austerity in his State of the Union address, President Obama proposes a second successive record annual hike in FDA ...

Corporate officials are 'responsible'

In an adverse finding on an appeal by Purdue Pharma executives over OxyContin marketing, an HHS Departmental Appeals Board says that corporate officials can be ...

Viewpoint

Dropped call: the digital story everyone's missing

Funny what gets people's attention. Today's topic du jour is social media—every pharma company sports an ad hoc committee, umpteen hyperbolic stories in the press, ...