Social Media

Industry group releases digital best practices

Matthew Arnold February 06, 2012

Weary of FDA foot-dragging on digital and social media guidance for pharmas, a group of 60-some industry digerati have put together guidelines of their own.

P&G signals plans to cut ad costs by shifting to digital media

Matthew Arnold February 01, 2012

Procter & Gamble is looking to lower its promotion costs by leaning more on digital media, Chairman and CEO Bob McDonald told analysts in an earnings call.

Idol star caps Janssen's UGC IBD awareness contest

Matthew Arnold December 07, 2011

Janssen Biotech wrapped up its IBD Icons campaign on Sunday with an American Idol star crowning the winners of the user-generated content contest at a benefit for the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA).

Merck v. Merck Facebook fracas a "tempest in a teapot" says US firm

Matthew Arnold November 29, 2011

Facebook shut down Facebook.com/Merck after Merck KGaA announced plans to take legal action "based on the apparent takeover of its Facebook page" by its US cousin, Merck & Co.

Study of diabetes social networks finds an advertising Wild West

Matthew Arnold October 13, 2011

More than a quarter of posts on Facebook sites for people with diabetes are promotional in nature, many touting products unapproved by the FDA, according to an analysis of diabetes-focused social networks.

Friends and family top health influencers, says survey

Matthew Arnold October 12, 2011

Underscoring the importance of social media in public health, patients say friends and family are as responsible for their health as are medical professionals, according to Edelman's 2011 Health Barometer study.

EMD Serono brings back "Birds & Bees" infertility effort

Matthew Arnold July 27, 2011

EMD Serono refreshed its "Birds & Bees" fertility issues awareness campaign with a Facebook page and a music video.

Did a PR firm's lapse give hackers keys to Pfizer Facebook page?

Marc Iskowitz July 21, 2011

Contrary to reports, hackers' brief takeover of the Pfizer Facebook page was probably not due to a security lapse by the social networking giant, security experts say.

Pharma digerati push for online guidelines

Matthew Arnold June 16, 2011

Frustrated by FDA inaction on guidance for digital marketing and social media, a host of industry players are banding together to form a nonprofit that can hammer out consensus on a way forward.

Roche-sponsored blog pushes HPV test in UK

Matthew Arnold June 07, 2011

Roche, which is launching an HPV test, is sponsoring a blog by a UK healthcare reporter chronicling the process of getting a pap smear.

Social media gurus Gwee and Monseau move on to new jobs

Matthew Arnold May 12, 2011

Two of the drug industry's brightest minds in social media, Shwen Gwee and Marc Monseau, are changing jobs, with Gwee leaving Vertex for Edelman and Monseau exiting J&J to open his own firm.

UK's drug promotion umpire issues internet guidance

Matthew Arnold April 13, 2011

The UK's Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority (PMCPA), which arbitrates drug industry self-regulation there, last week issued "informal guidance" on digital communications, and while it's more than FDA has offered, it's not much to go on.

Social media "power users" favor letting companies socialize, survey finds

Matthew Arnold April 05, 2011

Social media "power users" value interaction with healthcare companies want them regulated but around, according to a WEGO Health survey.

FDA again delays promised social media guidance

Matthew Schwartz March 30, 2011

The FDA has once again postponed the release of its first draft guidance for social media.

Much ado about mommy bloggers, mobile apps and paid posts

Matthew Arnold March 02, 2011

An Abbott iPhone app is drawing attention to the practice of compensating bloggers for app reviews, as some call into question the ethics of pay-for-play online PR.

Apps on fire, but pharmas losing the mobile health arms race, says report

Matthew Arnold February 16, 2011

Pharma investment in app development exploded last year, as companies branched out beyond diabetes, but industry spending on mobile is still dwarfed by other healthcare players, according to an Ernst & Young report.

Sanofi-Aventis builds out diabetes social media presence

Matthew Arnold February 16, 2011

Sanofi-Aventis US is expanding its social media footprint with a new "Discuss Diabetes" blog and a "WhyInsulin" YouTube channel.

DDMAC's Abrams gives update on policy making

Marc Iskowitz February 08, 2011

The director of the FDA's Division of Drug Marketing, Advertising and Communication (DDMAC) could not give a completion date for guidelines on use of social media in promotion.

At work, Sermo docs prefer the Epocrates app, MM&M poll finds

Ben Comer January 10, 2011

Doctors responding to an MM&M survey hosted by Sermo - a social network for practicing physicians - said they use the Epocrates mobile app more often for work purposes than any other app.

Red Cross targets youth with social media effort

Matthew Arnold December 22, 2010

A holiday digital campaign dubbed "Why the heck should I give to the Red Cross?" is playing off of an Internet meme to raise awareness of the charity among younger people.

Company news: social media guidelines

December 21, 2010

DDMAC pushed back its hotly-anticipated social media guidance, originally slated for the fourth quarter of 2010, to the first quarter of 2011.

Company News: American Medical Association

November 11, 2010

The American Medical Association (AMA) adopted a new policy for physician use of using social media.

In "Wild West" of Facebook sites, snakeoil salesmen abound

Matthew Arnold November 03, 2010

Social networks are a "Wild West" of medical misinformation, a study has found. More than one in four comments on Facebook diabetes communities is promotional in nature, generally for unapproved products, Harvard and Brigham and Women's Hospital researchers said.

In Coumadin banter, lessons for marketers of new blood thinners

Marc Iskowitz October 27, 2010

A love-hate relationship for Coumadin (warfarin) is playing out online, say authors of a new report that may offer lessons for marketers of new blood-thinning products.

Avandia warning signs seen online as early as '04

Marc Iskowitz August 31, 2010

A new report says patients began discussing the risks of GlaxoSmithKline diabetes drug Avandia in online forums and blogs well before a meta-analysis linked it to higher heart-attack risk.

Roche issues social media rules

Matthew Arnold August 17, 2010

Roche released guidelines for company use of social media, saying that "social media's high speed, level of interactivity and global access to any information you publish merits particular consideration to the appropriate uses for these applications."

Novartis Facebook Share widget provokes DDMAC letter

Ben Comer August 05, 2010

A Facebook Share widget found on Novartis' Tasigna website provoked a DDMAC Untitled Letter, the fourth DDMAC communiqué Novartis has received this year.

Teach a man to fish, teach a client to Facebook

Matthew Arnold August 03, 2010

Like many Razorfish Health clients, the Alzheimer's Association Delaware Valley Chapter knew they needed a social media presence but needed some hand holding to get there.

WEGO Health throws Ning network users a lifeline with sponsorship

Matthew Arnold July 19, 2010

WEGO Health is sponsoring all health networks at social networking platform Ning.com, enabling a million Ning network users to go on posting free of charge as the company phases out its free networks.