Medical Marketing & Media back issues from February 2009:
Divided by a common speech.(EDITOR'S DESK)
Feb 01, 2009; ... Regardless of their political persuasion, most people would have to agree that President Obama's Inauguration speech was penned with precision and delivered with no less aplomb. What struck me is how many of his most salient remarks could apply equally to the current plight of ...
Fight recession with ideas.(Viewpoint)
Feb 01, 2009 ... With marketing budgets now tighter than a pair of Michael Phelps' Speedos, coupled with a newly revised PhRMA Code, the need to innovate has never been so imperative. Steve Jobs said it best: "The way to deal with a recession isn't to hunker down until the storm has passed, it's to ...
GSK cuts DTC TV spend, eliminates political gifts.(NEWS)
Feb 01, 2009; ... SETTING A NEW tone at the outset of the Obama era, GlaxoSmithKline CEO Andrew Witty said the company would dial down its spending on DTC TV ads and eliminate political contributions. In January, Witty told The Wall Street Journal that the company would do less TV advertising ...
NME approvals, warning letters static in 2008.
Feb 01, 2009; ... THE NUMBER of warning letters issued and novel drugs approved scarcely budged in 2008. The FDA rang out the year with the approval of Ferring's degarelix, for prostate cancer, capping another slow year for new drug approvals. The green light for degarelix followed ...
PhRMA, AMA ad calls for health fix.(NEWS)
Feb 01, 2009; ... PHRMA AND the AMA jumped on the healthcare reform bandwagon in January with a TV ad calling for a healthcare fix to help the ailing economy. A coalition of six organizations, including PhRMA and the AMA as well as the Service Employees Industrial Union (SEIU), American Cancer ...
Lilly agrees to compliance checks for Zyprexa.(NEWS)
Feb 01, 2009; ... AS PART OF its $1.415 billion settlement for off-label marketing of Zyprexa, Eli Lilly & Co. will enter a Corporate Integrity Agreement (CIA) with the HHS Office of Inspector General. Lilly said in a statement that it "disagrees with and does not admit to the civil allegations" ...
Blogger Ed Silverman.(Update)(Brief article)
Feb 01, 2009 ... Blogger Ed Silverman left Pharmalot to join Elsevier's Windhover/ FDC Reports division, which publishes The Pink Sheet and InVivo, after taking a buyout from the site's publisher, The Star-Ledger ...
Rep. John Dingell will take the lead on healthcare policy for the House Committee on Energy and Commerce under a deal with Rep. Henry Waxman, who unseated Dingell as chairman of the committee last year.(Update)
Feb 01, 2009 ... Rep. John Dingell will take the lead on healthcare policy for the House Committee on Energy and Commerce under a deal with Rep. Henry Waxman, who unseated Dingell as ...
In 2007, the rate of growth in US healthcare spending slowed to its lowest rate since 1998 on lethargic retail prescription drug spending and government administration, according to a Health Affairs analysis.(Update)
Feb 01, 2009 ... In 2007, the rate of growth in US healthcare spending slowed to its lowest rate since 1998 on lethargic retail prescription drug spending and government ...
Forest Laboratories.(Pipeline)
Feb 01, 2009 ... Forest Laboratories and Cypress Bioscience received FDA approval for Savella, a selective serotonin and norepinephrine dual reuptake inhibitor indicated for ...
FDA sent Merck.(Pipeline)
Feb 01, 2009 ... FDA sent Merck a complete response letter regarding the use of Gardasil in women ages 27 to 45. The letter declined to approve the drug for ...
Collegium received FDA approval for AllerNaze Nasal Spray.(Pipeline)
Feb 01, 2009 ... Collegium received FDA approval for AllerNaze Nasal Spray, 50 mcg, indicated for the once daily treatment of nasal symptoms ...
Schering-Plough.(Pipeline)
Feb 01, 2009 ... Schering-Plough received an FDA complete response letter on Saphris, a sublingual tablet for the treatment of schizophrenia. The letter did not request additional ...
Allergan launches Lumigan for lashes.(NEWS)
Feb 01, 2009; ... ALLERGAN IS gearing up for the launch of Latisse, the first FDA-approved cosmetic eyelash enhancer, with a website and consumer ads in development. Allergan estimates that global sales of Latisse could exceed $500 million annually. A complete product website, at www ....
FDA has beef with type in Humira ad.(NEWS)
Feb 01, 2009; ... UNREADABLE RISK info was at issue in an FDA rebuke of an Abbott ad for Humira. The FDA issued Abbott Laboratories an untitled letter, dated Dec. 16, saying a journal ad for Humira "broadens the approved indication and minimizes the risks" associated with use of the drug. ...
Antidote.(NEWS)
Feb 01, 2009; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] At this point I don't know yet what caused John Travolta's son Jett to die. But suspicions are running high that he had a seizure that led him to hit his head in the bathtub. It is also currently a matter of unconfirmed rumor that he may have not been ...
IMS, SDI request a NH data ban rehearing.(NEWS)
Feb 01, 2009; ... RESEARCH companies IMS Health and SDI filed a motion to challenge New Hampshire's law banning the commercial use of prescriber-identifiable data. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The move represents round three in the battle to repeal the ban, which the data companies say ...
MPR rolls out its revamped website.(NEWS)
Feb 01, 2009; ... MONTHLY Prescribing Reference (MPR) has relaunched its website with a number of enhancements to functionality and design, as well as a new, easier-to-remember URL, www. eMPR.com. The new site will continue to focus on drug information but now offers a beefed-up search capability ...
Reprints guidance has strings attached.(IN FOCUS)
Feb 01, 2009; ... DRUG COMPANY reps can distribute--but not discuss--reprints of journal articles on off-label uses for drugs, according to an FDA guidance posted last month. The guidance comes with numerous conditions. As in the draft guidance issued a year ago, reps can distribute articles or ...
Lily's prasugrel approval hinges on plavix study results.(WALL STREET CHOICE)
Feb 01, 2009 ... Tim Anderson Bernstein Research Stock: Eli Lilly & Co. Target price: $39 Rating: Market perform As we had anticipated, FDA's Cardiovascular and Renal Drugs Advisory Committee will review prasugrel, Daiichi-Sankyo/Eli Lilly's ...
As I see it.(WASHINGTON INSIDER)
Feb 01, 2009; ... For as long as I've been involved with the pharmaceutical industry, first as the editor of a pharmacy journal 40 years ago, I've been conscious of an ethical paradox: the good works the industry does and its frequent reluctance to be publicly linked to them. The label "supported ...
Not waiting on Obama, CDER pushes its goals.(Center for Drug Evaluation and Research)(Brief article)
Feb 01, 2009; ... DEVELOPMENT of a "rigorous plan" to require electronic submission for all NDAs and other regulatory documents will be a top priority for the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) in 2009, according to its director, Janet Woodcock. Seen by some asa potential Obama choice to ...
Data exclusivity needed for follow-ons.(WASHINGTON INSIDER)
Feb 01, 2009; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] AMERICAN Enterprise Institute resident scholar John Calfee said Congress should be very careful in developing data exclusivity provisions for follow-on biologics lest its action suppress needed research and development by providing too short a period of ...
In an effort to end rivalry over who has the upper hand on FDA drug-safety decisions.(Update)
Feb 01, 2009 ... In an effort to end rivalry over who has the upper hand on FDA drug-safety decisions, the agency has published a manual of policies and procedures on how ...
Two Republican members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee have asked the FDA for information about a $1.5 million contract it signed to rebuild morale among agency drug safety employees.
Feb 01, 2009 ... Two Republican members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee have asked the FDA for information about a $1.5 million contract it signed to rebuild morale among agency ...
"Risk Evaluation and Management Strategies (REMS) have been institutionalized (in law and by FDA procedure).(Update)
Feb 01, 2009 ... "Risk Evaluation and Management Strategies (REMS) have been institutionalized (in law and by FDA procedure), but they're not science," ...
As part of its efforts to settle allegations that it paid diabetic product mail-order suppliers to switch consumers to its products.(Update)
Feb 01, 2009 ... As part of its efforts to settle allegations that it paid diabetic product mail-order suppliers to switch consumers ...
Combo approvals prove challenging.
Feb 01, 2009; ... THE FDA'S approval process for combination products is likely to become more challenging and complex even as the market for such products continues to experience dramatic growth. That's the assessment of Microtest Laboratories president Steven Richter, a former FDAer, in a new white paper, ...
Study says not all trial data are published.(WASHINGTON INSIDER)(Clinical report)
Feb 01, 2009; ... UC SAN Francisco researchers have found that not all drug clinical trial data reported to the FDA in marketing applications are published in journals and there can be discrepancies between what is reported to the FDA and what is published. "Thus, the information that is readily ...
Medical publisher.(Update)
Feb 01, 2009 ... Medical publisher Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a division of ...
Elsevier launched a new medical journal in January 2009.(Update)
Feb 01, 2009 ... Elsevier launched a new medical journal in January 2009, PM&R: The journal of injury, function and rehabilitation. The journal was launched through a partnership ...
Financial analyst.(Update)
Feb 01, 2009 ... Financial analyst group DeSilva+Phillips reported a resilient mergers and acquisitions climate for healthcare media in 2008; more resilient than any other media sector ....
Quadrant HealthCom.(Update)
Feb 01, 2009 ... Quadrant HealthCom hired Barbara Amstutz as director of medical education. Amstutz, previously the director of strategic planning and program development at ...
Slack revamps monthly newspaper.(MEDIA NOTEPAD)
Feb 01, 2009; ... IN FEBRUARY, healthcare publisher Slack will launch an updated, next generation version of Infectious Disease News, a monthly newspaper dedicated to infectious disease (ID) specialists. The refurbished title will include new features such as a multi-sourced cover story, detailed ...
Media choice.(Journal of Clinical Oncology )(Brief article)
Feb 01, 2009; ... The Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO) is a crucial resource for every hematologist and oncologist. In the vast and rapidly changing world of oncology, keeping up is an enormous challenge. Studies that achieve publication in this journal have undergone rigorous reviews by experts in the ...
Sage taps online network for ads.(MEDIA NOTEPAD)
Feb 01, 2009; ... MEDICAL JOURNAL publisher Sage hired e-Healthcare Solutions, a pharmaceutical and healthcare services internet advertising network, to handle all online advertising sales for its specialty journals. The move will offer clients access to more than 45 medical specialty journals ...
Integration is the name of the game: as the silo approach to media placement nears extinction, how has the ongoing surge of integrated marketing affected the tactics you employ?
Feb 01, 2009 ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Rebecca Robins Global marketing director, InterbrandHealth Social networking platforms are exploding the debate on health brands and giving rise to newly enfranchised consumers. In so doing they generate vital insights that can be ...
PhRMA's ban on tchotchkes for docs won an unlikely pat on the back from the American Medical Student Association.(Update)
Feb 01, 2009 ... PhRMA's ban on tchotchkes for docs won an unlikely pat on the back from the American Medical Student Association, a harsh critic of the drug industry that called the gift guidelines "a ...
Mark Miller, formerly of Donahoe Purohit Miller.(Update)
Feb 01, 2009 ... Mark Miller, formerly of Donahoe Purohit Miller, is branching out on his own with the launch of MJM Signature Group, which ...
ACCME.(Update)
Feb 01, 2009 ... Barbara Barnes, MD (pictured) and Claudette Dalton, MD were named chair and vice chair of the ACCME for 2009. Barnes is associate dean for CME and associate vice chancellor for continuing education and industry relationships at the University of Pittsburgh, as well as VP sponsored ...
NEJM to ask authors about patents.(MED ED REPORT)
Feb 01, 2009; ... THE MASSACHUSETTS Medical Society (MMS), publisher of the New England Journal of Medicine, said it would begin querying authors about pending patents that might pose a conflict of interest after it was upbraided by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) over a ...
CME effectiveness institute panned.(MED ED REPORT)
Feb 01, 2009; ... THE ACCME cast doubt on the need for a national inter-professional Continuing Education Institute to research medical education--an idea under consideration by an Institute of Medicine committee. Executive director Murray Kopelow said ACCME is "not sure that any of us know if ...
Emory U: calm down Grassley.(Emory University)(Brief article)
Feb 01, 2009; ... EMORY University's Office of the General Counsel told Sen. Chuck Grassley that Dr. Charles Nemeroff's receipt of speaking fees from GlaxoSmithKline did not compromise his care to patients or university research. Emory's Jane Jordan further said that while Nemeroff should have ...
Web watch.(DIGITAL MARKETING)
Feb 01, 2009; ... One definition of being crazy is to continue to do the same thing but to expect a different result. There are a lot of crazy people in our business. Pharma marketers continue to send out armies of detail reps that spend less and less time with physicians who barely have time to sign for ...
HealthCentral visitors request more Rxs: study.(online health care information services)(Brief article)
Feb 01, 2009; ... VISITORS TO THE HealthCentral network of websites were more likely to request prescription drugs from their physicians than were visitors to competing sites, such as WebMD and Everyday Health, a Manhattan Research study found. The study, which surveyed 8,714 US adults, found ...
VideoMD.com reaches 2,500 videos.(DIGITAL MARKETING)
Feb 01, 2009; ... PHYSICIAN-generated video platform VideoMD.com has accumulated 2,500 videos, and will launch advertising on the site in the coming months. The site, which officially launched last July, has been compiling patient education videos created by physicians and other healthcare ...
Some of AZ's oncology sales force personnel will be shifted to other product lines in anticipation of oncology offerings that are facing patent expiration, such as Arimidex (in 2010) and Casodex (in 2009).(Update)
Feb 01, 2009 ... Some of AZ's oncology sales force personnel will be shifted to other product lines in anticipation of oncology offerings that are facing patent expiration, such as ...
Qforma.(Update)
Feb 01, 2009 ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Qforma appointed Kent Harris as senior vice ...
Euro RSCG Life LM&P.(Update)
Feb 01, 2009 ... Euro RSCG Life LM&P announced that their Chicago-based agency has been assigned responsibilities for ...
ICC launched a new healthcare marketing communications agency.(Update)
Feb 01, 2009 ... ICC launched a new healthcare marketing communications agency, ICC Redshift, which will focus on the emerging medical ...
HIV drug chart now in mobile format.(DIRECT MARKETING)
Feb 01, 2009; ... VISIONARY HEALTH Concepts announced that its new, free resource, the HIV Drug Chart is available to the medical community through mobile devices, and desktop applications. The conversion to a mobile format was made possible by an agreement with Skyscape and through financial support from ...
Epocrates set to unveil new suite of products for iPhone.(DIRECT MARKETING)
Feb 01, 2009; ... EPOCRATES is expected to introduce its premium Epocrates Essentials suite for the iPhone and iPod Touch. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Company officials did not set a specific launch date saying only that the products would be available shortly. The new ...
An FDA study found that printed consumer medication information--the literature accompanying a Rx drug--does not sufficiently educate consumers about the use and risks of the medication.(Update)
Feb 01, 2009 ... An FDA study found that printed consumer medication information--the literature accompanying a Rx drug--does not sufficiently educate consumers about the use and risks of the medication. The ...
Teva's Duramed unit.(Update)
Feb 01, 2009 ... Teva's Duramed unit is running banner ads promoting emergency contraceptive Plan B on MTV.com with the tagline "Because the unexpected happens," Advertising Age reported. The ads irked the conservative ...
The Prescription Project blasted PhRMA's new DTC guidelines.(Update)
Feb 01, 2009 ... The Prescription Project blasted PhRMA's new DTC guidelines, calling the revamp "an attempt to head ...
The UK's Advertising Standards Authority ordered billboards promoting a prescription nasal spray said to aid male sexual performance taken down after the advertiser.(Update)
Feb 01, 2009 ... The UK's Advertising Standards Authority ordered billboards promoting a prescription nasal spray said to ...
AAFP unveils HD VOD consumer site.(DTC REPORT)
Feb 01, 2009; ... WHY SHOULD WebMD and EverydayHealth have all the fun? The American Academy of Family Physicians is launching a video-centric consumer site offering peer-reviewed health information in a high-definition, video-on-demand format. AAFP is partnering with broadcast and interactive ...
Wynonna Judd to serve as face of OTC weight drug alli.(DTC REPORT)
Feb 01, 2009; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] GLAXOSMITHKLINE has signed country singer Wynonna Judd to serve as the face of its OTC weight loss drug alli. Judd appears in TV and print ads launching this month. The story of her battle with weight is featured in a section on the ...
PR view.(PUBLIC RELATIONS)
Feb 01, 2009; ... CNN sacking some of its most experienced science journalists and producers could not come at a worse time. We are in desperate need of another science boom and greater public understanding and support will surely help propel the effort forward. Our healthcare, environment, energy needs and ...
Porter Novelli hires president, CFO.(PUBLIC RELATIONS)
Feb 01, 2009; ... PORTER NOVELLI has hired Anthony Viceroy as president of global business operations and chief financial officer. Viceroy will report to Gary Stockman, the agency's CEO. Viceroy was most recently SVP of financial management and client partnership at Omnicom's Diversified Agency ...
Vantage point.(MARKETING RESEARCH)
Feb 01, 2009; ... Merck recently announced it is forming a new division, Merck Bio Ventures MBV, to make copycat versions of biotech drugs. In its immediate target zone are products such as Amgen's Aranesp, a long-acting treatment for anemia that Merck expects to launch in 2012. This announcement ...
GfK consolidates to create GfK Healthcare.(Brief article)
Feb 01, 2009; ... GLOBAL marketing research giant GfK has announced the consolidation of its US operations into a single entity: GfK Healthcare. The combined company represents the merger of three previously separate operations, GfK V2, GfK Market Measures, GfK Strategic and Marketing, and will ...
TNS Healthcare expands global team.(MARKETING RESEARCH)
Feb 01, 2009; ... TNS Healthcare has announced two new appointments. Susanne Michel will lead TNS's global market access, pricing and reimbursement practice, and Mark Sales will head the company's global stakeholder management practice. Michel's new role will be to provide market ...
Big Pharma's financial diagnostician.(HEADLINER)
Feb 01, 2009; ... In his first year of med school, Tim Anderson, MD, VP, global pharmaceuticals analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., realized that medicine wasn't as exciting as he had hoped. However, he really enjoyed the business side of healthcare, and so he earned MD and MBA degrees (near ...
Who's going to shine in 2009? The road to success in the MM&M Awards starts here with the launch of the 2009 program. And it promises to be bigger, better, fairer and more meaningful than ever.
Feb 01, 2009; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Despite an increasingly difficult environmental for healthcare marketers, the MM&M Awards program continues to grow in size, stature and relevance--as evidenced by last year's record-breaking 830 submissions. So why such a clamor to win gold? It's because ...