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April 29, 2016 1

Treato, an online consumer insights company, released a survey on DTC 4/18. It was done with 529 Treato.com consumer users. The headline in their press release that said “Treato Finds DTC Pharma TV Advertisements Have Little Influence”. They cite a result that only 7% of respondents asked their doctor about an advertised drug this year compared to 21% last year.

When you do a survey and get some strange results like a decline from 21% to 7% you have to ask why. There is no reason that consumers would react so differently year to year. You have to question the methodology, the panel who responded, or some other factor. People would not find 2015 advertising so much less influential than 2014 advertising.

Bob Ehrlich
“Television ads payback…the evidence is overwhelming.”
-Bob Ehrlich

Treato did not analyze what TV ad influence means in terms of ROI for drug companies. Television ads payback, and the evidence is overwhelming. Whether the real consumer request number is 7%, 21% or anywhere in between, the drug makers look at the value of consumers who do request based on their ads. For many branded drugs 7% would be a great number.

The drug industry does not expect their ads to influence a majority or even a large minority of consumers. They know most consumers rely entirely on their doctor to tell them which drug to use. The drug makers hope a large enough segment of a potential user population see an ad and ask their doctor.

I remember the launch campaign for Lipitor had a marginal share boost. That marginal boost, however, was a great ROI on our investment. So Treato may be correct that TV has less influence than the DTC critics give it credit for having. Maybe Hillary will see that DTC is not the force for evil she contends in her speeches.

When you examine any blockbuster drug performance DTC has a marginal influence. Lipitor spent about 100-150 million on DTC in its peak days. It was doing over 5 billion in sales. So it probably generated 200-300 million in incremental sales from DTC. Maybe it had 4-6% influence. I think that percent would be a fair estimate for most billion dollar plus drugs doing television DTC.

Treato suggests that drug companies look for other ways to influence consumers. This statement misses the ROI truth. Drug marketers will use any medium that pays back. Television may not be seen by media pundits as innovative, but drug marketers are evaluated on ROI success, not how much they experiment. Television ROI is less than some other more targeted techniques like Point of Care. Drug companies do both to achieve their goals.

So Treato’s headline has some truth despite the odd decline they state from 21% to 7%. Their term “little influence” has very different meanings to drug company marketers and DTC observers. A little influence can generate a great ROI on premium priced drugs. For most brands’ mass media plan it is 1.5 to 3 to one. Pharma lobbyists should tout this survey to DTC critics showing there is no need to be concerned that consumers are being hypnotized by television into mass use of drugs.

Bob Ehrlich


April 25, 2016 0

The leading forum for direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising thought leaders honored a dynamic group of pharmaceutical companies and brands at the much-anticipated DTC National Advertising Awards.  The awards were part of the 16th Annual DTC National Conference to be held April 19-21 in Boston.  Sponsored by Health Monitor Network, the 2016 Advertising Awards showcase the best marketing and advertising across 16 categories.

The 2016 Ad Awards showcase exemplary work spanning multiple media and strategic categories.  During the Advertising Awards Dinner held on April 20, Gold, Silver, and Bronze winners were announced for all 16 major categories and a best Overall campaign winner was chosen.

Please contact Jennifer Kovack (Jennifer@dtcperspectives.com) with any awards inquiries.

[button link=”https://www.dtcperspectives.com/dtcn/#tickets” bg_color=”#700510″]Register for DTC National[/button]

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Ad Awards presented by:      HealthMonitorNetwork

Television category presented by: cbs

Gold Winners
Silver Winners
Bronze Winners
Honorable Mentions

 BRAND, DISEASE STATE, OR PROGRAM  COMPANY/IES  AGENCY/IES
BEST BRANDED TELEVISION CAMPAIGN – Presented by CBS
BREO Ellipta GlaxoSmithKline HAVAS Worldwide Tonic
Chantix Pfizer Y&R
Farxiga AstraZeneca MRM//McCann
Harvoni Gilead Sciences, Inc. STRIKEFORCE Communications, LLC
Humira (RA) Abbott Publicis New York
Jardiance Boehringer Ingelheim & Eli Lilly and Company Evoke Health Philadelphia
Jublia Valeant JUICE Pharma Worldwide
Linzess Actavis/Ironwood FCB Health
Lyrica (Fibromyalgia) Pfizer J. Walter Thompson
Myrbetriq Astellas Pathway, FCB Health, & Katalyst
Namenda XR Actavis FCB Health
Opdivo Bristol-Myers Squibb J. Walter Thompson
Osphena Shionogi Publicis New York
Prolia Amgen FCB Health
Viagra Pfizer BBDO/RAPP
 

cbs

BEST BRANDED PRINT CAMPAIGN
BREO GlaxoSmithKline HAVAS Worldwide Tonic
Depuy Synthes Anderson DDB Health & Lifestyle
HARVONI Gilead Sciences, Inc. STRIKEFORCE Communications, LLC
JARDIANCE Boehringer Ingelheim & Eli Lilly and Company Evoke Health Philadelphia
Levemir Novo Nordisk Prime Access
Linzess Actavis/Ironwood FCB Health
Nexplanon Merck & Co., Inc. DDB
OPDIVO (nivolumab) Bristol-Myers Squibb J. Walter Thompson
OTEZLA Celgene Evoke Health New York
Prevnar 13 Pfizer Y&R New York
Tamiflu Genentech HealthWork, powered by BBDO and CDMI
Tanzeum GSK AndersonDDB
Tecfidera Biogen CDMiConnect
VIAGRA (sildenafil citrate) Pfizer BBDO/RAPP
Xeljanz Pfizer Y&R
BEST BRANDED WEBSITE
Actemra Actemra CDMiConnect
Belsomra Merck & Co., Inc. Y&R Group–Wunderman DC
Brintellix Takeda & Lundbeck
HARVONI Gilead Sciences, Inc. Evoke Health New York
Humira Abbott Digitas Health
JARDIANCE Boehringer Ingelheim & Eli
Lilly and Company
Evoke Health Philadelphia
Linzess Allergan/Ironwood FCB Health
NAMZARIC Allergan, Inc. FCB Health
OTEZLA Celgene Evoke Health New York
Prevnar
13
Pfizer Y&R New York
RESTASIS® Allergan Beacon Healthcare Communications
Tamiflu Genentech Havas Worldwide San Francisco
Tecfidera Biogen CDMiConnect
Ultrashape Syneron AbelsonTaylor
VIAGRA
(sildenafil citrate)
Pfizer BBDO/RAPP
BEST BRANDED DIGITAL / SOCIAL CAMPAIGN
Botox
(Cosmetic): Treatment Visualizer
Allergan  
Entyvio Takeda Klick Health
EPIDUO Galderma Deutsch
Gilenya Novartis FCB Health
Invokana Janssen Hill Holliday (GA) / Casanova Pendrill (Multicultural)
Myrbetriq:
The Momentum Program
Astellas PulseCX, 2nd Spark, Targetbase, Pathway
NuvaTime
Reminder Tool
Merck & Co., Inc. Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness
OTEZLA –
Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA)
Celgene Evoke Health New York
OTEZLA
Psoriasis
Celgene Evoke Health New York
Prevnar
13
Pfizer Y&R New York
Simponi
Aria HotSpot Rx
Janssen Biotech, Inc. J3
VIAGRA
(sildenafil citrate)
Pfizer BBDO/RAPP
BEST DISEASE EDUCATION TELEVISION CAMPAIGN
Binge Eating Disorder Shire Digitas Health LifeBrands
Circadian Rhythm Disorder Vanda Pharmaceuticals Merkley + Partners
Heart Failure Novartis McCann HumanCare
Hep C Hope Gilead Sciences STRIKEFORCE Communications
HIV Testing Gilead Sciences Digitas Health LifeBrands
Lung Cancer Bristol-Myers Squibb MRM//McCann
Opioid Constipation AstraZeneca BGB Group
Pseudobulbar Affect (PBA) Avanir Pharmaceuticals Advance MarketWoRx
Shingles Merck & Co., Inc. Publicis New York
Whooping Cough Vaccine GSK Ogilvy CommonHealth/Backe Marketing/PHD Media
BEST DISEASE EDUCATION PRINT CAMPAIGN
Caregivers
Speak Up
The Bloc The Bloc
Chronic
Migraine
Allergan Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness
Diabetes
Sight Risk
Regeneron The Bloc
Heart Failure Novartis McCann HumanCare
Lupus GSK Anderson DDB
My HIV
Hangup
ViiV Healthcare Havas Worldwide Tonic
Patient
Advocacy
Eisai Medikidz/Marina Maher
Communications
PBA
Facts
Avanir Pharmaceuticals Advance MarketWoRx
Prepopik
Unbranded CRC Campaign
Ferring Pharmaceuticals Concentric Health Experience
Prostate
Cancer Unbranded Disease Awareness
Bayer Area 23
Tdap
Awareness
GSK Ogilvy CommonHealth/Backe
Marketing/PHD Media
BEST DISEASE EDUCATION WEBSITE
Afib
Microsite
Daiichi Sankyo Spirit Health Group, National
Stroke Association, Mended Hearts, Preventative Cardiovascular Nurses
Association
Akathisia Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc Merkley + Partners
Caregivers
Speak Up
The Bloc The Bloc
Diabetes
Sight Risk
Regeneron The Bloc
DMPM and You Mallinckrodt Company CDMiConnect
Free
Killer Tan
Mollie Biggane Melanoma
Foundation (Mollie’s Fund)
Area 23
GoutIsSerious.com AstraZeneca CDMiConnect
My
Chronic Migraine
Allergan Evoke Health
My HIV
Hangup
ViiV Healthcare Havas Worldwide Tonic
Prepopik
Unbranded CRC Campaign
Ferring Pharmaceuticals Concentric Health Experience
Prostate
Cancer Unbranded Disease Awareness
Bayer Area 23
The Jeffrey Modell Foundation Global PI
Village
The Jeffrey Modell Foundation CDMiConnect
Asthma Relationship Marketing Program GSK Havas Worldwide Tonic
WomanOn Pfizer Vynamic
BEST DISEASE EDUCATION DIGITAL / SOCIAL CAMPAIGN
Big Bad Wolf Campaign GSK Ogilvy CommonHealth/Backe Marketing/PHD Media
Caregivers Speak Up The Bloc The Bloc
Diabetes Sight Risk Regeneron The Bloc
Free Killer Tan Mollie Biggane Melanoma Foundation (Mollie’s Fund) Area 23
Gout Is Serious AstraZeneca CDMiConnect
HealthAwareNext HealthWellNext The Bloc
My Chronic Migraine Allergan Evoke Health
My HIV Hang-up ViiV Healthcare Havas Worldwide Tonic
Take a Stand Against CRC Ferring Pharmaceuticals Concentric Health Experience
The Silent Era Bayer Area 23
Asthma Relationship Marketing Program GSK Targetbase & Clarity Consulting, LLC
WomanOn Pfizer Vynamic
You Don’t Know Jack About MS YouTube
Channel
Teva Pharmaceuticals Intouch Solutions
BEST NEW BRAND / INDICATION TELEVISION CAMPAIGN
Belsomra Merck & Co., Inc. Y&R Group–Y&R New York
BREO Ellipta GlaxoSmithKline HAVAS Worldwide Tonic
Cosentyx Novartis Hill Holliday
Jardiance Boehringer Ingelheim & Eli Lilly and Company Evoke Health Philadelphia
Movantik Daiichi-Sankyo & AstraZeneca BGB Group
Namzaric Actavis FCB Health
Opdivo Bristol-Myers Squibb J. Walter Thompson
Otezla Celgene Evoke Health New York
Pradaxa Boehringer Ingelheim GSW (New York)
Xifaxan Salix Pharmaceuticals Cline Davis Mann
BEST NEW BRAND / INDICATION PRINT CAMPAIGN
Anoro
Ellipta
GlaxoSmithKline HAVAS Worldwide Tonic
Belsomra Merck & Co., Inc. Y&R Group–Y&R New York
BREO
Ellipta
GlaxoSmithKline HAVAS Worldwide Tonic
Duavee Pfizer Digitas Health
Humalog U-200 KwikPen Eli Lilly and Company Rx EDGE, GSW
Jardiance Boehringer Ingelheim & Eli Lilly and Company Evoke Health Philadelphia
Kerydin PharmaDerm FCB Health
Movantik Daiichi-Sankyo & AstraZeneca BGB Group
Opdivo Bristol-Myers Squibb J. Walter Thompson
Otezla Celgene Evoke Health New York
Trumenba Pfizer GhG
BEST NEW BRAND / INDICATION WEBSITE
Belsomra Merck & Co., Inc. Y&R Group–Wunderman DC
BREO for
Asthma
GlaxoSmithKline HAVAS Worldwide Tonic
Bydureon AstraZeneca Heartbeat Ideas
Duavee Pfizer Digitas Health LifeBrands
Farxiga AstraZeneca Cadient
HARVONI Gilead Sciences, Inc. Evoke Health New York
JARDIANCE Boehringer Ingelheim & Eli Lilly and Company Evoke Health Philadelphia
Kerydin PharmaDerm FCB Health
Movantik Daiichi-Sankyo & AstraZeneca BGB Group
NAMZARIC Allergan, Inc. FCB Health
Onexton Valeant JUICE Pharma Worldwide
Opdivo Bristol-Myers Squibb Heartbeat Ideas
OTEZLA Celgene Evoke Health New York
Toujeo sanofi-aventis Havas Lynx
BEST MOBILE APP
Botox
(Cosmetic): Treatment Visualizer
Allergan
Grow on the Go EMD Serono
Heart Partner App Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation FCB Health
My
Sidekick
Biogen CDMiConnect
Myrbetriq
/ Run Pee Movie App Sponsorship
Astellas Pathway / Klick
Simponi Aria HotSpot Rx Janssen Biotech, Inc. J3
Sleep Guru Merck & Co., Inc. Ayogo
XARELTO Patient Center Janssen J. Walter Thompson
BEST CELEBRITY CAMPAIGN
Binge Eating Disorder: Monica
Seles
Shire Digitas Health LifeBrands
Enbrel: Phil Mickelson Amgen AbelsonTaylor
Jublia: Mario Lopez Valeant JUICE Pharma Worldwide
PBA: Danny Glover Avanir Pharmaceuticals Advance MarketWoRx
Pfizer & American Lung
Association: Tim Daly
Pfizer Ogilvy Public Relations, Wunderman, and Y&R
Prolia: Blythe Danner Amgen FCB Health
Shingles: Terry Bradshaw Merck & Co., Inc. Publicis New York
Stelara: CariDee English Janssen FCB Chicago
Victoza: Dominique Wilkins Novo Nordisk MMC (Marina Maher)/Grey Healthcare
Xarelto: Arnold Palmer, Kevin
Nealon, Chris Bosh, Kevin Vickers
Janssen J. Walter Thompson
BEST MULTICULTURAL CAMPAIGN
Levemir: Que No Pase De Hoy Novo Nordisk Prime Access
My HIV Hang-up ViiV Healthcare Havas Worldwide Tonic
VIAGRA (sildenafil citrate): The Woman
Campaign
Pfizer BBDO/RAPP
Dulera Merck & Co., Inc. Deutsch
Invokana Janssen Casanova Pendrill
Lyrica Pfizer J. Walter Thompson
Victoza Novo Nordisk Prime Access
BEST PATIENT ENGAGEMENT, SUPPORT, OR CRM PROGRAM
BENLYSTA
Connections Magazine
GSK Targetbase
Caregivers
Speak Up
The Bloc The Bloc
Heart
Partner App
Novartis Pharmaceuticals
Corporation
FCB Health
HETLIOZ
Consumer Welcome Kit
Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc Merkley + Partners
Medikidz
Explain Living with Epilepsy
Eisai Medikidz/Marina Maher Communications
“MISSING
PIECE” Patient Brochure
GlaxoSmithKline HAVAS Worldwide Tonic
My HIV
Hang-up
ViiV Healthcare Havas Worldwide Tonic
OPDIVO
(nivolumab): Projections
Bristol-Myers Squibb J. Walter Thompson, Heartbeat Ideas, & Merkle
QVAR
“Stick With It” Kit
Teva Pharmaceuticals Merkley + Partners
SaxendaCare MicroMass Communications, Inc. MicroMass Communications, Inc.
Simponi
Aria WiFi Mobile
Janssen Biotech, Inc. J3
The
Unbranded Asthma Relationship Marketing Program
GSK Targetbase & Clarity Consulting, LLC
MOST INNOVATIVE
Caregivers Speak Up The Bloc The Bloc
Free Killer Tan Mollie Biggane Melanoma Foundation (Mollie’s Fund) Area 23
HARVONI Gilead Sciences, Inc. Evoke Health New York
Heart
Partner App
Novartis Pharmaceuticals
Corporation
FCB Health
Medikidz
Explain Living with Epilepsy
Eisai Medikidz/Marina Maher Communications
My
Sidekick
Biogen CDMiConnect
Myrbetriq / General Hospital & ABC
Integration-Sweepstakes
Astellas Pathway / Katalyst / FCB Health
Myrbetriq
/ Run Pee Movie App Sponsorship
Astellas Pathway / Klick
Simponi Aria HotSpot Rx Janssen Biotech, Inc. J3
Unbranded Heart Failure Disease State Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation FCB Health
WomanOn Pfizer Vynamic

 

 

admin


April 13, 2016 0

You know that men and women are so different that we have to look to the planets to sort out the contrast.  But when it comes to trusting the biopharmaceutical industry, we’ve found that the genders are at the same time similar and different.

ThinkstockPhotos-78459443For the last two years, we have conducted a revealing survey among women making healthcare decisions asking how much they trust the pharmaceutical industry – the WEST Survey on Pharma: Women’s Engagement, Satisfaction & Trust. This year, we also conducted the same survey among 300 men, the MENT Survey on Pharma: Men’s Engagement, Needs & Trust, again through our subsidiary Health Stories Project, an online community of people inspired to tell their health stories to help others to connect and learn.

We undertook both surveys with the goal of understanding how true patient engagement can help build a foundation of trust with these important audiences. Though we will publish detailed results later, we’ve pulled out the top three responses to several questions to share some key findings.  The results were very revealing.

Differences: Men and Women

We know men and women are different, and now we know it is because their brains are actually built differently.  A study of 1,000 brain scans[i] showed that “on average, female brains are highly connected across the left and right hemispheres, and connections in male brains are typically stronger between the front and back regions.”

  • As a result, men tend to perform tasks predominantly using the left side, which is the logical/rational side of the brain.
  • Women, on the other hand, use both sides of their brain, because a woman’s brain has a larger Corpus Callosum, which allows women to transfer data between the right and left hemispheres faster.

As expected, our surveys showed several differences in how men and women perceive the biopharmaceutical industry.  We asked men whose opinions they would find very or extremely credible when forming an opinion of a pharmaceutical company.

  • Men’s top choice: a technical expert.
  • This is compared to women’s top choice of a friend or family member, which actually took the #2 spot for men.
  • Men’s top three influencers were rounded out by an academic professional, showing the value men place on validated, vetted authority figures when they are looking for information they can trust. (And women place a premium on their trusted personal relationships.)

The survey also emphasized differences in the way men want to communicate with the biopharmaceutical industry, again with subtle differences from women’s responses.

We asked about specific initiatives biopharma companies could use to communicate directly with patients and caregivers to understand their needs that would have a lot of or significant impact on a company’s trustworthiness.  Both men and women agreed that direct channels that enable the industry to communicate with patients would have the most impact, but their emphasis was tellingly different.

  • Men’s top choice was creating an online community where the company and patients or caregivers could engage with one another.
  • Men’s second and third choices were methods companies can use to regularly gather feedback from patients, including focus groups and in-person or online patient/caregiver advisory meetings.
  • In contrast, women’s top three choices were reversed: their top two choices were methods companies can use to regularly gather feedback from patients, and their third option was creating an online community.

Another departure between the responses of men and women was evident when we asked if recent attention to drug pricing has changed survey respondents’ perception of the pharmaceutical industry.

  • Men were significantly less sensitive to pricing issues, with 62% of men but only 42% of women saying recent events have not changed their perception of the industry.

Similarities: Men and Women

However, there were also several key areas in which men and women’s perspectives were very similar.  When describing themselves in the survey, a majority of both men and women said they were the primary decision maker for someone else, such as a child or spouse, who has taken a prescription medication.

  • Surprisingly, 92% of men said they were primary decision makers.
  • According to a recent Center for Talent Innovation (CTI) survey: 94% women who work and have children under the age of 18 make healthcare decisions for others[ii].

And though men were less influenced by recent attention to the pricing of pharmaceuticals than women as referenced in the Differences section, we were surprised that the perceptions and trust of both men and women were not as impacted overall by recent events in pharma as we thought they might have been, even after a year with high-profile negative attention on the pharmaceutical industry.

And finally, while we are still analyzing all the data from both the men’s and women’s surveys and we don’t want to give away all of the results, I can tell you that across the board, men have more trust in the biopharmaceutical industry than women.

More Details at DTC National 2016

Pam Garfield, SVP of Strategy & Innovation with Patient Health Perspectives, will be presenting the full results from the 2016 WEST women’s survey, overlaid on the 2015 results, at the DTC National Conference  next week.  If you are attending, be sure to look for her presentation, “Do Women Trust Pharma?” for all of the details.  We will also present the men’s survey results later this year.

 

References:

[i] http://www.fitbrains.com/blog/women-men-brains/

[ii] http://www.talentinnovation.org/_private/assets/PopHealthcare_ExecSumm-CTI.pdf

Cheryl Lubbert


April 11, 2016 0

As I wind down my career I wanted to reflect on my favorite project. In 2000 I thought there was the need for a well organized meeting of DTC professionals. At the time there were several attempts made by conference companies to run DTC meetings. The problem I had with them was they were developed by companies that ran many diverse topical conferences across many industries. They had no real inside knowledge of what mattered to DTC professionals.

Bob Ehrlich
“DTC National…brings industry practitioners together…”
-Bob Ehrlich

After Pfizer acquired Warner-Lambert in 2000 I decided to try to go out on my own and focus on DTC. Having worked on Lipitor and Rezulin, both major advertised drugs, I had a good working knowledge of DTC issues. In 2001 we started the DTC National in Las Vegas. It was a success but I had many ideas to grow it and in subsequent years it grew each year as DTC spending grew.

As I looked through past agendas I am proud of our diverse group of speakers, many were drug industry critics such as Ralph Nader, Howard Dean, Joseph Kennedy, and Henry Waxman. I always welcomed the anti-drug side because we as an industry need to be open to criticism and change. One of my favorite moments was the debate between Ralph Nader and Pfizer President Pat Kelly, when sparks flew as Nader held nothing back.

Another great moment was when David Kessler, former FDA Commissioner admitted he was wrong to oppose DTC. Much discussion over the years centered on political threats to DTC, which are never more relevant than this year.

Many of our media gurus over the years have lambasted the industry for being too slow to adopt digital media. Most of these experts predicted the end of television but most have been wrong, at least to date, as the media spending numbers prove. While media futurists are always interesting, they are often wrong.

What is most gratifying about the DTC National is it brings industry practitioners together to network. Most of us change jobs fairly often and having a broad contact base is essential when one is merged put of a job, or when a job change is desired. I urge all DTC professionals to get known in the industry. Speak at industry events, write articles for the trade press, join a panel or just come to conferences and be friendly. To my pharmaceutical marketing colleagues I recommend you get to know suppliers and agencies, as one day you will need them for job contacts. As someone whose company was acquired, I know that having a strong industry wide reputation goes a long way.

So for those of you who have never been to the DTC National, I welcome you to try it out. While everyone can find reasons to stay in the office, the three days spent learning from your peers will be well worth the time.

Bob Ehrlich


April 5, 2016 0

Commonly regarded as an ancient practice, drug compounding may be making a comeback as industry professionals are seeing it as an “essential antidote to spiraling drug prices”. However, high costs of compounding utilization cause a significant financial burden on commercial and government health plans. For this reason, many observers see both positives and negatives. As demand for specially tailored health and medical products continues to increase, compounding has grown to account for the need. When compounding on a large scale, however, there are serious health concerns, such as the meningitis breakout in Massachusetts in 2012.

To read more about the pros and cons of drug compounding, click here.

Lily Stauffer


April 1, 2016 0

The FDA is becoming very active in DTC research. By my count they have identified ten studies that are in process to be fielded. Their glacial pace of completing their studies is well known so I am not sure when these ten will be completed and published. I know the people doing the studies are well qualified professionals who are hampered by government procedures that slow down the process. They go through numerous mandated public comment periods and have to get budget approval from Office of Management and Budget bureaucrats. It is unfortunate that after 20 years of DTC, FDA is still doing basic research that should have been done 15 years ago.

Bob Ehrlich
“FDA needs to…better communicate the…results.”
-Bob Ehrlich

FDA is doing some important studies and some that I question for their usefulness. On the positive side they are doing an important study on shortening the risk statement to focus on the major risks rather than the long litany of risks in many ads. They are also doing important work in the area of price discussion in DTC ads. FDA is also studying how to convey quantitative clinical information in understandable visuals. A fourth study which is important is how to measure the impact of superimposed text on the screen, as to size, contrast to background, and use on mobile devices.

FDA is also doing a major consumer attitude study on DTC, which was last done in 2002. This is long overdue and might be the most important of all their proposed studies. With all the criticism from payers, politicians, and physicians it is critical to get comprehensive consumer feedback.

There are a few studies I find less useful. One is measuring DTC television ads impact on the hard of hearing. One can assume that anyone who cannot hear well will have trouble with the audio and have less comprehension. This is one of those studies without a practical purpose. What are drug makers supposed to do differently? Are they supposed to have special ads for the hearing impaired?

Another study is one done with teens on ADHD drugs. Does it matter what teens take away from DTC ads? Their parents and physicians are the gatekeepers. Again what is a drug maker supposed to do when advertising ADHD drugs? Are they expected to make sure teens understand risk/benefit?

One thing FDA needs to do is better communicate the research results to the DTC community. Their findings should be announced and summarized in user friendly formats. It is ironic that an agency dedicated to improving consumer communication does a mediocre job of organizing and releasing their data. They need to have an easy to understand summary chart of each study with objectives, findings, conclusions, and next steps. No business person would accept the current way of communication and neither should FDA. Hopefully their web site will be better run and targeted to the people who actually are expected to act on their research.

Bob Ehrlich