September 2009 Issue of MMM

Editor's Desk

Reality check on pay

It's salary survey season again at MM&M and given the economic turbulence that has characterized the past year, we didn't really know what to expect ...

Features

Career and Salary Survey: Weathering the Storm

Consolidations and mergers over the last 12 months didn't stop industry paychecks from decreasing for the second year in row. Ben Comer looks at the ...

Workplace Culture: Finders Keepers

A challenging economic year has been a mixed blessing for some agencies who find they have a much larger talent pool to choose from. Tanya ...

Career Path: Six Stories to the Top

Pharma marketers have diverse backgrounds. What they have in common is a desire to help patients and dispel negative images of the industry. Here are ...

MM&M Awards 2009: Road to Glory

Back in July, an esteemed panel of 41 expert healthcare executives, spanning the fields of marketing, communications and media, came together to review and score ...

Headliner: Harvard Medical School's Tom Stossel

Tom Stossel, MD, the Harvard Medical School professor who took a brave and lonely stand for the value of industry-sponsored CME before a hostile Senate ...

In Focus

Nice piece of legislation you got there...

PhRMA last month secured a wishy-washy public confirmation from the White House that they had an agreement, and promptly launched the first installment of a ...

Professional Marketing

Aptilon unveils new sales force tool

Aptilon announced the availability of an expanded set of tools that enables biopharmaceutical companies to increase access to valuable, high-prescribing physicians.

Economic downturn takes toll on incentives and raises

Results of a study conducted by ZS Associates designed to benchmark incentive practices in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries revealed an increase of 8% in ...

Professional Marketing briefs

Featuring news about Manhattan Research, Lilly, Zogenix, Astellas Pharma and Sumavel DosePro

Med Ed Report

Nissen: ACCME should be abolished

The ACCME is a toothless watchdog and should be abolished, said Cleveland Clinic's Dr. Steven Nissen at a Senate Committee on Aging hearing.

Industry support of CME down 14%

Total commercial support of accredited CME dropped 14% to $1 billion in 2008, according to ACCME's annual report—even as the number of physicians participating in ...

Firewall deadline has finally arrived

The ACCME's August deadline for accredited providers to get right with the new definition of a "commercial interest" has passed.

Med Ed Report briefs

Featuring news about Lilly, Novo Nordisk and McCann Healthcare Worldwide

Professional Media

J&J app aggregates info for doctors

Johnson & Johnson used its JNJ BTW blog to introduce an iPhone app for docs, titled BlackBag.

Wiley to launch diabetes journal

Responding to an increase in diabetes and diabetes care worldwide, Wiley-Blackwell announced that it will launch the Journal of Diabetes Investigation in 2010.

Professional Media briefs

Featuring news about Physicians Interactive, Skyscape, Thomson Reuters, Elsevier's Journal of Food & Ankle Surgery and Lippincott Williams & Wilkins' Nursing2009

Media Forum

Does customization increase value?

Many of the large health networks offer customized advertising capabilities, such as branded "patient rooms" and exclusive video inventory. Is there value in these kinds ...

Digital Media

MayoClinic, Everyday Health partner

Everyday Health added the Mayo Clinic's consumer website to its network of health properties, although pharmaceutical advertising on the site will continue to be handled ...

Cardinal Health launches in-pharmacy ad network

Cardinal Health launched the Pharmacy Health Network in early August, serving up digital prescription and OTC advertising in 3,000 independent retail and franchised pharmacies nationwide.

Digital Media briefs

Featuring news about HealthMedia, StayWell Custom Communications, Compete and the AMA

Consumer Marketing

DDR on DTC: Omnaris

What do you do if you are an innovative but small "David" of an allergy nasal spray that has to do battle with a "Goliath"—in ...

Centocor launches online talk show on arthritis

From the people who brought you the disease awareness documentary comes New Way RA, an online talk show for people with rheumatoid arthritis hosted by ...

DDMAC warns Abbott on Kaletra DVD

FDA warned Abbott about a patient testimonial DVD for its HIV drug Kaletra, starring Earvin "Magic" Johnson. The DVD, I Know What's Important, minimizes the risks, ...

Novo Nordisk taps 'The Rock' for ad

Novo Nordisk has enlisted action film star and ex-wrestler Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as the latest celebrity face of its Diabetes Aware campaign with the ...

Rite Aid site offers ads, coupons

Schering-Plough, Novartis, Johnson & Johnson, Wyeth and others are using Rite Aid's new "video values" site to offer coupons and information about their products.

Cancer patients don't trust docs: survey

A survey of patients at Harvard's Dana-Farber Cancer Institute found that 11% said ads for cancer-related drugs had made them less confident in their providers' ...

Consumer Advertising briefs

Featuring news about antidepressant use, Schering-Plough, Claritin Eye and the Genetics and Public Policy Center

Marketing Research

Vantage Point: Pharmas should become diversified healthcare companies

For several years now, people have been writing off the pharmaceutical industry. Blockbuster drugs losing their patents, in concert with decreasing numbers of drug approvals, ...

So-net M3 acquires quiz website for research

Marketing research and e-marketing firm So-net M3 acquired The Smartest Oncologist in America, a daily oncology quiz service, through an acquisition of The SmartestDoc LLC.

IMS Health cuts jobs after Q2 losses

IMS Health announced a streamlining of business operations in the wake of second quarter losses.

Agency Business

Publicis hooks Microsoft's Razorfish

Publicis will acquire Razorfish, a Microsoft-owned digital and interactive shop, for roughly $530 million, according to joint company statements.

Digitas hangs shingles in UK, Boston

Digitas Health is opening offices in London and Boston to accommodate several years' worth of strong growth, the Publicis network said.

Ogilvy announces two joint CEOs

Ogilvy Healthword promoted Gloria Gibbons, president of Ogilvy Healthworld EAME (European-African-Middle Eastern) and Donna Tuths, president of Ogilvy Healthworld North America, to joint worldwide CEOs.

Agency Business briefs

Featuring news about Publicis Strategic Solutions Group, Palio and MS&L

Washington Insider

Biosimilars slated for 12 years market exclusivity

In a move applauded by brand name manufacturers, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and its House counterpart voted in July to support ...

'Pay-for-delay' generic deals illegal

The Obama administration's Justice Department says that so-called pay-for-delay arrangements in which an innovator drug company pays a generic drug company to delay entry into ...

As I see it: Branded vs. non-bioequivalent generic drugs

Permit me to share some personal information—my eldest son has epilepsy. The good news is that his condition is under control due to the wonders ...

Viewpoint

Social media: How to survive the inevitable fall

Picture, if you will, this iconic scene from a classic movie. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid are trapped by an oncoming posse. They face ...

Better medicine through healthcare education

Throughout my healthcare PR career, I worked on and headed teams that executed innovative and award-winning campaigns to educate patients and healthcare providers.