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May 2009 44 5 Issue of MMM

Editor's Desk

Climbing the social ladder

Somebody asked me a few days ago why I bother to tweet. "What's the point of Twitter?" he continued.

Features

MM&M Awards Judges: Marks of Genius

The deadline to enter the MM&M Awards is merely weeks away but rest assured that your entries will be in good hands. James Chase reveals, ...

Pharma Report 2009

2008 was a tough year for the industry. Big Pharma is in a temporary holding pattern as companies pursue a broader-based portfolio that includes non-traditional ...

The Case Study of Vyvanse: Coupons vs. Samples

Shire product director Mike Boken uses the example of ADHD drug Vyvanse to illustrate the potential pharmaceutical marketing advantages of using patient debit, copay and ...

Social Media: The Science of Eavesdropping

Measuring online consumer healthcare conversations can help provide pharma companies with insights for message planning, competitive intelligence and new product development. Ira Haimowitz and Claudia ...

Headliner: Johnson & Johnson's Alex Gorsky

Alex Gorsky, worldwide chairman for Johnson & Johnson's surgical care group and this year's Healthcare Businesswomen's Association Honorable Mentor, says mentoring is a two-way street.

Antidote

Antidote: FDA took wrong stance on Provenge for prostate cancer

I haven't covered prostate cancer in this space before, in part because the choices, though controversial, have been somewhat static for some time.

In Focus

Are gifts inherently conflicts of interest?

Several prominent universities have banned gifts from pharma companies, including everything from paid lunches to drug samples, and the trend seems likely to continue.

Professional Marketing

Physicians Interactive acquires online sampling provider

Physicians Interactive (PI) acquired MedManage Systems Inc., a provider of online, on-demand prescription drug sampling.

Live video detailing scores high marks with physicians

According to a new study by Manhattan Research, video detailing is now a viable option for pharma, biotech and device manufacturers.

Med Ed Report

American Psyciatric Association phases out pharma-funded CME

The American Psychiatric Association will put an end to industry-sponsored continuing medical education and meals served during its annual meetings.

Iowa state Senate passes harsh gifts and Rx data ban

Iowa's state Senate passed a healthcare bill containing some of the toughest restrictions on drug company contacts with physicians yet.

Professional Media

PainPathways lands on national shelves

A magazine focused on chronic, acute and cancer-related pain made the leap onto consumer newsstands in April, debuting at Barnes & Noble stores nationwide.

InnoVision saved from Chapter 11

InnoVision Health Media, publisher of three complimentary and alternative medicine journals, and consumer magazine Natural Solutions, was acquired by private-equity firms: American Securities and ACI ...

Media Forum

Will traditional media get a boost?

The AMA is the latest association to call for an increasingly limited financial relationship with pharma. With less opportunity for sponsorships, will journal advertising and ...

Digital Media

Smartphone use surges among docs

The number of physicians using smartphones in 2009 surged to 64%, according to the results of a study by Manhattan Research.

Online health community matches patients with similar conditions

A new online health community—FacetoFace Health— is pairing patients with other patients based on similar conditions and medications.

Sensei launches diabetes app

Sensei, a mobile technology developer and subsidiary of Humana, has launched an iPhone app for diabetics.

Consumer Marketing

DDR on DTC: Galderma's Oracea

Hooray for Galderma and their new campaign for Oracea (pronounced or-A-sha) that treats rosacea (pronounced roh-ZAY-sha).

Rx TV ads more memorable in 2008, Nielsen says

TV ads for prescription drugs loosened up a bit in 2008 and exercised greater creativity despite intense scrutiny, The Nielsen Company found in a review ...

Artery Explory hitting the road again

AstraZeneca is redeploying its Artery Explorer for a second tour, using medical animation to help bring atherosclerosis to life.

Simplied drug packaging had little impact on adherence

Citing studies, American Medical News said simplified drug packaging might improve patients' comprehension of risks and benefits but seems to have little impact on adherence.

Drug marketers should appeal to reason during recession

Marketers must appeal less to the emotions and more to ration to woo consumers amid the economic downturn, according to a DDB study.

Marketing Research

Vantage Point: Healthcare system needs to change

Waste not, want not. This phrase is typically credited to Ben Franklin, but its profoundness was evident throughout the PMRG meeting in Las Vegas in ...

IMS, SDI want Supremes to look at prescription data laws

IMS Health and SDI are seeking a Supreme Court review of a ruling that restricts the commercial use of prescriber data in the state of ...

G&S Research promotes Mike Bandick to SVP

Healthcare marketing research firm G&S Research promoted Mike Bandick to SVP. The move follows a company restructuring that put Bandick at the head of R&S ...

Agency Business

Merkle launches healthcare practice

Database marketing agency Merkle has launched a healthcare practice, led by former GlaxoSmithKline director of integrated marketing Jeff Wiltrout.

Global public relations firm Burson-Marsteller hires Lisa Davidson

Global PR firm Burson-Marsteller has appointed Lisa Davidson to managing director of the firm's global healthcare practice.

Washington Insider

Obama administration: no plans to bifurcate food/tobacco from drugs/devices

When it comes to the future of the FDA, sources inside the Obama administration assure me that they have no plans to bifurcate food/tobacco from ...

Waxman hearing probes IRB shopping, GAO sting

Drug companies that shop among competing institutional review boards, especially those that operate for profit, to get the most favorable clinical study results, and a ...

Pre-emption 'can lead to overwarning'

Washington Legal Foundation (WLF) said the US Supreme Court's recent 6-3 decision that federal law generally does not pre-empt state law product liability suits challenging ...

Viewpoint

Will social media work to connect with patients?

Remember what happened with websites in the 1990s? It seemed as if corporate marketing went from "Exactly how do they work?" to "Wow, we gotta ...

Healthcare journalism needs a recovery plan

The need for increased health and science literacy has never been greater. It's a crucial gap that must be filled if we are to promote ...

Back Talk

The magic of IT

Again and again you see the statement that information technology will not only avoid medication errors but stop (or even reverse) the upward trend of ...