May 2010 Issue of MMM

Editor's Desk

Don't ask Dr. Dean if DTC is right

Even though it's now been 13 years since the first ever TV commercial for a prescription drug brand debuted on our TV screens--Claritin's "Blue Skies"--the ...

Features

Pharma Report: When Generics Attack

US branded drug sales saw a modest bump in 2009, but maybe hold off on the champagne, because generics are still surging and another wave ...

Advertitis: The Search for a Cure

All too often in pharmaceutical advertising, somewhere between the initial idea and the finished product, the communication—and the originality—disappears. Ross Thomson and Craig Sponseller, MD, ...

What Doctors Want: Six Reasons for Adopting Reality-Based Research

Asking physicians what they want can be a fruitless task. Meaghan Onofrey believes the solution lies in ethnographic research

Headliner: Razorfish Health's Katy Thorbahn

On March 1, six months after Publicis acquired digital powerhouse Razorfish from Microsoft, Razorfish Health launched as a standalone shop.

MM&M Awards: Judgment Day

The deadline to enter the MM&M Awards is less than a month away but rest assured that once again your entries will be in the ...

Antidote

Antidote: anti-convulsant drugs

The problem with media headlines on pharma is that they are rarely subtle or nuanced, instead they smear and cripple some of our best medications.

In Focus

Biosimilars mean competition for biologics

When patents expire on brands like Merck's cholesterol pill Zocor, million-dollar ad budgets usually fizzle as cheap generic competition takes over the market.

Professional Marketing

DDMAC letter scolds Rozerem sales aid

A "sell sheet" used to promote Rozerem to doctors contained unsubstantiated superiority claims and omitted risks associated with the drug, according to an untitled DDMAC ...

Sanofi-Aventis layoffs cut total US sales forces to 5,700

Sanofi-Aventis laid off 400 reps in April as part of a strategy to focus on key therapeutic areas.

Professional Marketing briefs

Featuring news about Sanofi-Aventis, Warner Chilcott, Novartis and PharmaShine

Med Ed Report

iPad tempts mobile CME app makers

The Apple iPad gives physicians a new way to connect to courses, news and other educational content. But surveys disagree on whether medicine will adapt ...

Pfizer paid docs $35 million in last half of 2009

Pfizer paid out $35 million to 4,500 healthcare professionals in the second half of 2009, the company reported.

Stanford extends ethics rules

Stanford adjunct clinical faculty must follow the same policies as full-time faculty and thus are prohibited from accepting industry gifts of any size, including drug ...

Med Ed Report briefs

Featuring news about Cordis Corporation, American College of Physicians, National Institute of Mental Health and Georgetown University Medical Center

Professional Media

New journal looks at hot button issue

First Lady Michelle Obama's recent announcement of a campaign to end childhood obesity was not lost on medical publisher Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., which will ...

Nexus Awards for Dennehy, Quadrant

The Association of Medical Media named Joe Dennehy of the Cleveland Clinic and Megan Boorjian of Quadrant as its 18th annual Nexus Representatives of the ...

Professional Media briefs

Featuring news about GlaxoSmithKline, International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, Monthly Prescribing Reference and the American Medical Association

Media Forum

Pharma unlocks new demographic

Spanish-language network TV ad spend nearly tripled in 2009, while its cable spend quadrupled. What happened? Did pharmas just discover these demographics, and will we ...

Digital Media

Pfizer eyes digital AERS technology

Pfizer is experimenting with electronic medical records and mobile technology to detect safety issues sooner.

Adults with chronic disease less likely to go online: report

Even when factors like education level, income and age are accounted for, adults with chronic diseases are still less likely to go online or have ...

Digital Media briefs

Featuring news about Healthline Networks, iVillage and the Internet Advertising Bureau

Consumer Marketing

DDR on DTC: Simponi

Some DTC ads develop from a key consumer insight that points to brand essence and leads to a great creative idea.

GlaxoSmithKline rolls out fishy TV spots for Lovaza

GlaxoSmithKline launched new TV spots last month for Lovaza, a prescription omega-3 fish oil capsule indicated for the lowering of very high triglyceride levels.

Third parties key to cred: survey

Consumers are skeptical of pharma participation in social media, but endorsements by government and nonprofit organizations add credibility, according to an Epsilon survey.

Takeda launches IBS unbranded site

Takeda is observing Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) Awareness Month with the launch of an unbranded website for patients called Let's Talk IBS.

Reality TV stars hawk Zyrtec and Claritin

Spring is in the air, and that means, well, sure, robins, daffodils, love and all that, but more importantly, campaigns for allergy drugs featuring endorsements ...

Consumer Marketing briefs

Featuring news about Merck, Schering-Plough HealthCare Products, Resolute Communications and Shire

Marketing Research

Vantage Point: healthcare reform

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Will this adage hold true for healthcare?

Start anywhere, ask stupid questions and fail early

Four marketing research company CEOs reflected on the future of their industry, that of pharmas and on their firms' relationships with pharmas at the Pharmaceutical ...

Agency Business

LyonHeart fills need for creative head

New York-based LyonHeart hired Steven Hébert to lead its creative department, the agency said.

CDM fleshes out global expansion with three new shops

Cline, Davis & Mann acquired agencies in Paris, Milan and Montreal, fleshing out a planned global expansion that has placed CDM World Agency shops in ...

Agency Business briefs

Featuring news about MS&L Group, Publicis Healthcare Communications Group, In-Sync Customer Insights, Hacker Group, HealthHG and MicroMass Communications

Washington Insider

As I see it: transparency

So how's it workin' out for ya--all this new Obama transparency stuff?

Kessler helps convict Pfizer of racketeering

Based in part on testimony from former FDA commissioner David Kessler, a Massachusetts federal jury has found Pfizer guilty of violating racketeering laws in marketing ...

Health reform has new drug sales fee

Washington attorneys Thomas Barker and Barrett Thornhill (Foley Hoag) say in an on-line report that the new healthcare reform law imposes an annual fee on ...

Viewpoint

The meat matters most for any brand messaging

I have a friend at a big digital agency. And the talk in his firm is about becoming the agency of the future, and "obsoleting" ...

How will reform impact the healthcare ecosystem?

Now that the fight over the healthcare bill is over and the election-cycle fight over its repeal is just beginning, I decided to step away ...

Back Talk

Marketers lack leadership

Many people regard pharmaceutical firms as a necessary evil—they deliver life-saving products but are also to blame for rising healthcare costs. With the industry facing ...