Remember the predictions about the death of TV ads? Well, pharma ad spending increased by 3% last year to $6.4 billion, and the bulk of that number ($5.1 billion) went to TV advertising. Meanwhile, the total spent by big pharma on digital fell by 18% last year from 2017. (MM&M)
So why is TV a bedrock part of pharma marketing campaigns despite the emergence of newer and sexier technologies? That’s the focus on an in-depth feature in this month’s Media Issue, which explores how drugmakers are reaching customers. (MM&M)
The apocalypse hasn’t come for pharma TV ads, but will human media buyers go the way of the dinosaur? That’s the focus on a comprehensive feature in MM&M’s April issue that explores where and when the increasingly programmatic world of medical media buying requires a human touch. (MM&M)
Outgoing FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb tweeted on Monday that he is “seeking to advance new guidance on the proper procedure for milking an almond” in one of the better April Fool’s Day tweets by a public official. (Twitter) In real news, Gottlieb told CNBC that the FDA’s top role is “the best job I’ve ever had.” (CNBC)
China’s government said on Monday that it is planning to regulate all fentanyl-related drugs as a class of controlled substances. U.S. officials had hoped their Chinese counterparts would make the change, which could help slow the flow of lethal opioids from the country. It is set to go into effect on May 1. (Associated Press)
