The Globally Integrated Pharma Enterprise: Value of DTC to the Globally Integrated Pharma Ent...

The Globally Integrated Pharma Enterprise: Value of DTC to the Globally Integrated Pharma Ent...: I am no marketing guru especially when it comes to Direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising but I most certainly believe there is a balance w...

The Globally Integrated Pharma Enterprise: Value of DTC to the Globally Integrated Pharma Ent...

The Globally Integrated Pharma Enterprise: Value of DTC to the Globally Integrated Pharma Ent...: I am no marketing guru especially when it comes to Direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising but I most certainly believe there is a balance w...

Value of DTC to the Globally Integrated Pharma Enterprise

I am no marketing guru especially when it comes to Direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising but I most certainly believe there is a balance we need to strike across the three key areas it influences – health, economic, and social.

As Ian Read, Pfizer’s President and CEO argued at the Cleveland Clinic last week, DTC advertising “is a fundamental right in the U.S.,” and denying the right of Industry to speak directly to patients through drug advertizing “leads to ignorance and inability to judge”.  Seems like a fair argument that would appeal to, and be consistent with, our broader country ideology and market principles.

Pharma DTC spend has increased significantly over the past decade.  In many cases, it has been found to be more effective than the alternative – the direct pharma sales force – and has provided a reasonable ROI to the industry.  And given that, physicians and caregivers have significantly reduced the time they spend with sales reps, especially over the past couple of decades, it has also become a powerful medium of awareness and education.

But then, what does this all mean to a consumer like me?  First, you interrupt my American Idol viewing with an ad.  And then, you give me information about a medication I can neither prescribe nor buy.  Maybe you can serve me better if you combined forces with the rest of the pharma companies and pooled resources to educate people on awareness of under-diagnosed and under-treated diseases.  And one more thing, with so many warnings in the final 30 seconds of that ad – which I know the FDA mandates you to provide – you may have scared me more than what you did to motivate me in first 30 seconds.

Finally, as a lot of folks in my network (many of whom work with Big Pharma) will tell you, they’re all done with the erectile dysfunction (ED) type of ads on family-time television.  They get enough of that spam on their emails and do not see a pressing need for ongoing education in this area, so please save them the embarrassment.